Kill or Be Killed: Silk's Reign
by SedatedDreams
Summary: Silk was once an ordinary house-cat who lived a happy and safe life. But, one day her house-folk vanishes and doesn't return, and Silk finds herself lost and alone on the harsh and violence streets of the city. In a strange place, full of vicious cats, and with no survival skills of her own, Silk quickly learns there is only rule out here: Look out for yourself—Kill or be Killed.
1. A Lost Pet

This is a backstory for the character Silk from my fan-fiction Lightning's Destiny. If you are curious to read more of my Warriors fanfiction or learn more about Silk you can check that out :)

* * *

Characters:

Silk— a slim, pure white she-cat with bright orange eyes.

Velvet— a small white dog with curly fur and deep brown eyes

Delilah— a dark brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Whiskey— a large, light brown tabby tom with green eyes

Bronze— a light brown tabby tom with a white chest/belly and orange eyes

Dusty— a mostly white tom with some small light brown tabby patches and green eyes

Dark— a mostly white tom with a black tail and black markings on his face and blue eyes

The Brothers:

King— a large black and white tom with icy blue eyes

Lancer— a black and white tom with green eyes

Dragon— a massive solid black tom with blue eyes

* * *

 **Part One: A Lost Pet**

In the golden pool of the early morning light that streamed in the window, Silk blinked awake from her perch on the couch. As soon as her eyes opened, her stomach growled. Silk winced, pressing a dainty white paw to her belly, trying to soothe the hunger. She rose and stretched, yawning. Today marked the fourth day without Agnes, her house-folk. The kind old lady had cared of Silk for her whole life. She knew nothing beyond the walls of their home, and the gentle, wrinkled face of Agnes. Agnes always took care of her, brought her food, gave her water, toys and soft places to sleep. But, three days ago, Agnes had left the house and not returned.

Silk was worried about her. She had been moving stiffly, and coughing a lot before the day she vanished. What if something had happened to her?

Silk's belly loudly growled again, reminding her of another pressing issue. Without Agnes, Silk had no food. Silk crouched down, wrapping her thin tail around herself for comfort. She was already feeling weak. How many more days could she go before the hunger overwhelmed her?

"Oh Agnes, where are you?" Silk cried out, her voice breaking slightly as she sighed.

"Silk?" a voice called, causing Silk to jolt.

Silk turned to see a small white dog trotting into the room, her dark brown eyes peering worriedly out of the curly fur of her face.

"Velvet," Silk meowed, relaxing. "I didn't realize that you were awake."

"I have trouble sleeping without Agnes," Velvet said, giving a high pitched whine.

"Me too," Silk said with another sigh.

She wished that she had Agnes' warm side to press against, and that Agnes' large hands would soothingly stroke her head, and that she would murmur quietly to her in her house-folk language while Silk fell asleep with a low purr in her throat.

Velvet hopped onto the couch, curling up against Silk. Velvet whined softly to herself, nuzzling her own paws for comfort. Silk leaned over and gave Velvet's floppy ears a few soothing licks.

Velvet and Silk had grown up together; they had met when Silk was only a tiny kitten, and Velvet only a bumbling puppy. Besides Agnes, Velvet was her only family.

"You think she'll be back, right?" Velvet asked, resting her chin on Silk's back.

"Of course she'll be back," Silk said with certainty in her voice.

Her ears pricked as she heard Velvet's stomach growl.

"What concerns me is what we will do about food in the meanwhile," Silk said.

"I'm so hungry," Velvet said with a sigh.

"Me too," Silk replied.

Silk hesitated, the idea that she had been tossing around in her head for these past few sunrises coming to the front of her mind.

"Velvet…" Silk meowed slowly. "You don't think that maybe… we could go outside to find food."

"What?" Velvet said, her ears pricking as she raised her head from Silk's back so she could look her in the eye. "But, I'm not allowed to go outside without Agnes! And, you don't go outside at all."

"I know," Silk meowed, looking down at her paws. "But, think about it. Agnes brings the food in from the outside. We don't know when Agnes is coming back, so we need to find our own food for a bit."

Velvet gave an uncertain whine.

"Look, here," Silk said.

She rose to her paws, leaping from the seat to the top of the couch, then onto the nearby windowsill. The window gave Silk a view of the yard, then the street, and the row of houses on the other side. Silk had spent many days sitting at this window, watching the house-folk and their cars drive past. Sometimes she even watched Agnes walk Velvet around on a long strip of rope. Silk had always been content to observe though, she never felt an urge to see what was out there. Until now.

When Agnes had vanished, she had left the window slightly open. A fresh-breeze came in to stir Silk's whiskers. Silk sighed, feeling the touch of the clean air. The crack wasn't very big, but Silk thought she could manage to wiggle enough under it to widen it with her shoulders so that Velvet could also fit through.

"You've told me about how there are food-things to eat out there," Silk meowed. "Good smelling things that house-folk sometimes drop. And, look!"

Silk spotted a bird flutter past the window.

"There's prey for us to hunt too," Silk said. "I'm sure we can catch something."

"Birds are hard to catch. I've tried," Velvet huffed, rearing up on her hind-legs to rest her forepaws on the windowsill, so that she could see outside too.

"Well, we need to eat something," Silk said, turning to look at Velvet.

Velvet pressed her ears back to her head uncertainly.

"What if Agnes comes back while we're gone?" Velvet asked. "Silk, I don't know…"

"Please, Velvet," Silk meowed, a hint of pleading entering her voice. "I don't want to go outside as much as you do. But we need food to live. We will come right back afterwards, I promise."

Velvet was silent for a moment longer.

"You're right," she finally said with a sigh. "But, we come right back."

"Of course," Silk assured.

Silk bent down and wiggled under the windowsill. With a grunt, she raised herself upwards, slowly expanding the gap.

"Is that good?" Silk panted, her legs trembling as she took a break from pushing up on the window.

Silk eyed the now much larger opening. Velvet also closely examined it, looking up and down at the window.

"I think so," she yapped.

Velvet pulled her paws back to stand back on the ground. She took a few steps backward, the tags on her pink collar jingling. Silk eyed it, feeling glad that Agnes didn't make her wear a collar like that around her neck.

"Watch out," Velvet warned.

Silk moved out of the way as Velvet took a brief running start and sprung cleanly out of the window and into the yard. After only a moment's hesitation, Silk followed her outside and into the unknown.

* * *

"Um… Silk, do you know where we are?" Velvet asked, with a soft whine, looking around at the unfamiliar street and casting a worried glance up at the darkening sky.

"Er," Silk meowed, giving an uneasy tail-twitch and glancing to the left then the right, searching for familiar landmarks. "I'm sure we came this way, home must just be right around the corner."

Silk and Velvet had to wander for a while before they found anything to eat. They ended up stumbling across these big, silver, metal bins in an alley which had food scent coming from them. Silk first had tried to knock a bin over, but she found that she was not strong enough. She was lucky to have Velvet there, with her greater size and strength, Velvet had been able to tip the bin over without a problem. There had been remains of some kind of bird in there, along with some other scraps of house-folk food. Silk was grateful that she finally had a full belly, but in her and Velvet's quest to find the food, they ended up far from their house… And they were having a bit of difficulty finding their way back.

Velvet gave another high pitched whine as they continued walking down the street.

Silk's ears flicked back at the annoying noise.

"Will you quit doing that?" Silk snapped, a hint of irritation creeping into her voice.

"I'm sorry," Velvet muttered, ducking her head. "It's just I've never been away from home for this long."

Silk sighed.

"I know," she meowed, her irritation waning as she looked at her friend. "I haven't either. I'm sorry… I'm just feeling stressed too."

"It's okay," Velvet barked softly, giving a small tail wag to show all in forgiven.

They continued on in silence for a bit longer. Silk gazed at the house-folk houses around her, but none of them seemed familiar. The scents on the breeze didn't smell like the scents that drifted through the window during the days that Silk would lie on the sill either. And, as the sun set, the shadows grew longer and deeper, turning the world around her more sinister and unfamiliar with each passing second.

Silk blinked hard, looking back to Velvet.

"I don't know where we are," Silk meowed, despair creeping into her voice.

She stopped walking, and for a moment she felt like crying like a kit.

"Why did Agnes leave us?" Silk said, her voice pleading.

"Shh," Velvet said, giving Silk a nuzzle with her long nose. "It's going to be okay."

"How can we find the way back?" Silk mewed, feeling very small. "It's getting so dark…"

"How about we find a place to rest for the night?" Velvet suggested. "In the morning, things will look more familiar. Then we can find home."

Silk nodded, slowly at first, then more vigorously. She felt better now that they had a plan. Even if it was a tentative one. Velvet led the way down a nearby alleyway. The fur on Silk's back prickled as they walked through the narrow lane. She felt like the walls were pressing in, and that there were eyes on her. Silk glanced quickly to her left, and she spotted a flash of movement as a cat dashed past, scrambling up a low wall. The stranger glanced down once at Silk and Velvet from over it's shoulder, before disappearing down the other side of the wall.

Silk swallowed. Although she couldn't see the cat's face, she had still felt the hostility of it's gaze.

"Here looks good," Velvet yapped.

Silk looked at the spot Velvet picked out for them.

It was a damp, dark corner of the alley, hidden the shadows, and the ground was hard and cold.

Silk found herself longing for her soft blankets, couch, and bed back in their house.

Velvet curled up on the ground, a white curly-furred mound. Silk settled down next to her, pressing her matching white coat to her friend's.

"Goodnight, Silk, everything will be better in the morning," Velvet said.

"Goodnight," Silk sighed, shutting her eyes.

* * *

The next morning, Silk snapped awake to the sound of house-folk shouts. She leapt to her paws as she saw large shadows looming down the alley.

"Velvet, get up," Silk hissed in a hushed voice, prodding Velvet's side with her paw.

"Wha—" Velvet mumbled, rising her head while blinking sleepily.

"Get up! We've got to go! Strange house-folk are coming!" Silk said.

Velvet rose to her paws.

"What do we do?" Velvet asked, looking around.

The house-folk had entered the alley. There were three of them. They saw Velvet and Silk, and they froze.

Velvet and Silk froze in response, and for a moment, everyone just stared at each other.

The house-folk started talking in low, soothing voices in their house-folk language. Silk cocked her head, listening. Their voices sounded friendly, but she didn't recognize many of the words. She only picked out _kitty,_ and _dog._

"We should go," Silk said quietly to Velvet.

Silk noticed Velvet's tail was slowly wagging.

"They seem nice, Silk. What if they know Agnes?" Velvet said, looking at the house-folk.

"Not all house-folk know each other," Silk hissed to Velvet in an exasperated voice.

Velvet gave a quiet whine, before falling silent for a moment.

"Fine… you're probably right," she said finally.

Silk began to slowly back away.

"Come on," she muttered.

Velvet gazed at the house-folk for a moment longer, before forcing herself turn away. Velvet at her side, Silk turned, and they padded away, deeper into the alley.

"We can find our way back home without them," Silk meowed, seeing the distressed look on Velvet's face.

"I'm just—" Velvet began.

She paused as the sound of a rock rattling against the ground echoed through the alley.

Silk looked over her shoulder towards the sound and felt her fur rise slightly.

"The house-folk are following us!" Silk hissed.

Velvet's eyes widened in concern, and she glanced back to see for herself. Silk increased her pace, and now the two of them were trotting down the alley. The house-folk increased their pace too, to keep up. Silk felt her heart begin to pound a bit loudly in her chest. Velvet's floppy ears laid back in concern, and she shot Silk a worried look. Still striding quickly, they turned a corner and found themselves face to face with a tall fence, made out of shiny, silver house-folk material, weaved together like a spider's web.

"Quick, before the house-folk get any closer," Silk said, hooking her small paws into the fence and beginning to climb.

Velvet whined, prompting Silk to look back over her shoulder. Velvet was still on the ground, peering up at Silk with large, watery brown eyes.

"What are you doing?" Silk meowed, urgency creeping into her voice. "Come on, Velvet!"

"I can't," Velvet cried. "I can't climb like you! You know that I can't!"

Silk felt a huge pit open up in her stomach. She had forgotten. Although Velvet's paws were small enough to fit in the gaps between the webbing, she didn't possess the balance Silk did, and her claws were blunt and clumsy, not sharp and retractable for careful gripping. Silk sprung back down from the fence to Velvet's side.

"Don't worry," Silk said. "We'll find another way."

"No, you have to go," Velvet said, urgency in her voice.

Silk looked over her shoulder at the quickly approaching house-folk. They seemed more menacing, walking briskly, big paws swinging at their sides.

"I'm not leaving you!" Silk cried.

Velvet gave Silk's flank a firm nudge with her muzzle.

"I said go Silk! What's the use in both of us getting caught!" Velvet said.

"Velvet!" Silk cried.

"Climb!" Velvet barked.

Silk obeyed, scaling to the top of the silver mesh fence in a few easy bounds. At the top, she looked down over her shoulder to see Velvet cowering at the bottom of the fence as one of the house-folk bent down to pick her up.

"Get your paws off of me!" Velvet growled in a shaky, uncertain voice.

The house-folk mumbled something in their strange tongue, holding Velvet firmly to their broad chest. The house-folk looked up at Silk, prompting her to flinch. But, she was out of their reach, and they seemed to decide it wasn't worth it to pursue her. The house-folk turned away, Velvet in their arms.

"I'll find you!" Silk cried to Velvet as they walked away. "We'll make it back home to Agnes, I promise!"

"Stay safe, Silk!" Velvet cried her voice, her voice whining. "I'll be alright!"

"Velvet!" Silk cried, feeling her heart tearing in her chest.

Then the house-folk turned the corner, and Silk was alone.

* * *

Silk could not find Velvet.

She wandered the streets for sun-rises, her strength waning as the days past. She was not as strong as Velvet, and she was unable to knock over the big, silver bins, despite the house-folk food-scent she could smell coming from them. She wasn't fast or coordinated enough to catch the mice she sometimes saw scurrying in the shadows of the alleys. Also, without the protection of Velvet at her side, Silk was hounded from one corner of the city to the next by vicious stray cats. Cats with scarred faces and torn ears and yellow fangs that snarled and hissed and cursed at her, chasing Silk out of what they called "their" territory.

Silk's white pelt was now a dingy grey. Her paw pads were scraped and bleeding from spending hours every day walking on the harsh stones of the streets. Her ribs jutted out of her sides and her legs trembled in exhaustion. All she could think about was her house. And, Agnes and Velvet, and the warm pool of sunshine coming in through the window and a soft cushion to lay on. As the days past, those memories became more and more like distant dreams. Still, she padded on, searching fruitlessly for some familiar landmark.

But, some part of her, deep, deep down, knew that she would never find her way back home.

Silk's heart pounded in her throat as she flew down the street as fast as her weak, trembling legs could take her, a huge grey brute of a cat at her heels. Silk had only wanted to lap some water from a puddle when this tom came out of the shadows, snarling and charging at her. After being chased several blocks, the grey tom lost interest, and with a parting hiss, he slowed his pace, letting Silk get away. After sprinting until the cat was out of sight, Silk staggered, panting down an alley. She found a dark, damp corner, hidden from view, where she collapsed.

 _I'm not sure if I even care to wake up again…_ Silk thought as her eyes drifted shut, exhaustion sweeping over her.

* * *

Silk felt a muzzle touch her flank.

"Velvet…" she mumbled, still mostly asleep.

The soft muzzle touch was replaced with a rough paw shaking Silk's shoulder, and snapping her awake.

Silk sprung to her paws, eyes flying open, hissing hysterically, claws flashing.

"Easy!" a dark brown tabby she-cat snapped, springing away a tail-length, out of the reach of Silk's blows.

The she-cat blinked annoyed amber eyes at Silk.

"What do you want?" Silk said, arching her back.

Her voice came out surprisingly hoarse from sunrises of disuse.

"I was making sure you weren't dead," the brown she-cat said, curling her lip up to reveal a flash of fangs. "I couldn't see you breathing, and I didn't want your rotting scent to stink up my territory and scare my prey away."

 _There those strays go, calling the streets "their" territory again,_ Silk thought.

"Well I'm not dead," Silk said.

Despite her weakness, she still gave an offended tail-twitch. It was true that she didn't smell that good, and she couldn't remember the last time she groomed her pelt. But, she didn't need this mangy street-cat pointing it out.

The she-cat regarded Silk with a guarded gaze, but to her surprise, the brown tabby didn't lunge at her to chase her off.

"What happened to you? You look pathetic," the she-cat asked.

Silk winced like her blunt words were physical blows. Her mind drifted to the string of long sleepless, food-less nights.

The amber eyes on the tabby darkened.

"Was it the Brothers? You didn't wander into the Brothers' territory did you?" the she-cat asked in a hushed voice.

"The Brothers?" Silk echoed in confusion.

The brown tabby's brow furrowed suddenly.

"You don't know about the Brothers?" she meowed incredulously, suddenly wary looking. "Where are you from?"

"A house," Silk snapped, annoyed at the tabby's evasiveness. "I don't remember how long I've been wandering. I lost my way home, and I can't find my house-folk or my dog."

 _"Your… dog?"_ the tabby squeaked in a shocked, high pitched voice.

"She's my friend," Silk said in an impatient voice. "She was taken by strange house-folk."

"Two-legs can't be trusted," the tabby growled in agreement. "Although neither can dogs."

"Have you seen her?" Silk asked, a hint of hope creeping into her voice. "She's got white, curly fur…"

The tabby was already shaking her head.

"Sorry. I avoid dogs as much as I can. Haven't seen a white one either," she said.

Silk's tail drooped.

"So you're just a lost kitty-pet," the tabby meowed.

Silk's tail twitched. Other strays had snarled that word at her too. Although she wasn't sure what it meant.

"My name is Silk," she said hauntingly.

The brown tabby looked her over carefully.

"I'm Delilah," she meowed finally.

Abruptly, she got to her paws. Silk flinched at the sudden movement, but Delilah just turned and padded away, down the dark alley. Silk watched her go, but before Delilah went more than a few tail-lengths away, she turned to look at Silk from over her shoulder.

"Are you coming?" she asked in her blunt voice.

"What?" Silk said, blinking hard in surprise.

"Are you coming?" Delilah echoed in a more annoyed voice. "Or stay here and waste away. Judging by how you look, I'd say you'd make it one or two more sunrises on your own."

Silk froze for a moment. For a heart-beat she was too shocked by the offer of help to even move. But, she knew Delilah was right. She felt the deep exhaustion dragging at her bones, whispering in her ear to stop running, stop fighting, just lie down and let a dark wave of endless sleep pull her under. There was a part of her that was tempted by that voice. She was tired, so tired. She wanted to rest. She also wanted to find her way home to Agnes and Velvet. But, they were so far gone from her now. She knew that accepting Delilah's offer meant accepting a life without them, maybe with new house-folk or maybe she'd never see the inside of a house again. A life of the unknown. Although, there was always the chance that Delilah was leading her into a trap and soon she would be dead anyways. Perhaps into the claws of these mysterious "Brothers."

Silk shook her head slightly. Maybe not though, after all, Delilah seemed scared of them.

 _Go,_ a powerful voice commanded from within.

As tired as Silk was, there was a part of her that wouldn't let her rest, wouldn't let her give up. It was the part of her that had forced her to keep moving when strays chased her for blocks even when her lungs gasped for breath and her legs screamed. It was a part of her that she didn't even know that she had for the moons and moons during which she lived warm and safe in a house. This part of her was wild and strong, and it sneered at the thought of comforts Silk once had and it told Silk that she would live.

It was the part of Silk which she would have to embrace if she wanted to survive.

 _Forgot your old life,_ the voice said, _Your new one starts now._

Silk forced her weak, trembling legs forward.

* * *

Silk spent the next several sunrises recovering her strength and learning the art of survival and hunting and fighting from Delilah. Delilah was an unforgiving teacher. She regularly told Silk how she knew kits that could hunt and fight better than her. She was impatient with Silk, snarling at her to spring faster, hit stronger. She often acted so annoyed by Silk's presence, Silk was baffled by why she even offered her to join her in the first place.

But, despite Delilah's often unpleasant attitude, Silk slowly began to recover and soon started to gain strength. Her muscles hardened under her fur, bigger and leaner than they were when she lived in her house. Her claws became sharper. Her reflexes became faster. Silk groomed her pelt until it was a polished white again, although it made Delilah sniff that now the prey would see her from a block away. Soon her fur was the only soft part about Silk. She wasn't as good at hunting or fighting as Delilah, not even close. But, she was still able to scrape up a meager food pile by the end of the day. And, soon she was the one chasing stranger cats off of the streets. Her and Delilah's streets. _Their_ territory.

It was a strange thought. This land was hers, bought with her strength, and defended by her. Even the house were she once lived wasn't _hers_ , not in the way this territory was.

Silk slowly grew fond of Delilah's blunt and often harsh demeanor. She still sometimes thought of Velvet or Agnes, but as the days past, thoughts of them became less and less frequent. Delilah and Silk made an effective team, and Silk could see Delilah's tabby pelt growing sleeker as she benefited from the support of Silk's hunting and patrolling. Slowly Delilah began to open up to Silk. She had kits once, and it seemed like she missed the companionship they had given her, which Silk suspected, was part of the reason why she let Silk join her. Although, Delilah was vague about what happened to her kits. From what Silk could gather, some were grown and gone, while others didn't survive to make it that long.

One day, Delilah took Silk to the farthest edge of her territory, where they scaled the wall to the roof of a tall two-leg den.

"Do you see that?" Delilah meowed, flickering her tail to indicate something in the distance.

Silk looked and gasped. There, smack in the middle of the grey of the city, was a patch of bright, vibrant green. It was packed with soaring trees, spreading branches, and rustling leaves.

"I've never seen so many trees all together," Silk said, her oranges eyes going wide. "Is it a forest?"

Delilah let out a brief, rusty purr.

"Not even close. My mother was born in a forest. She said that it made this look tiny. This is the Park," Delilah said.

"Oh," Silk said, still blinking in surprise. "Can we go to the Park?"

Delilah shook her head, the amusement fading from her eyes.

"That's the center of the Brothers' territory," she meowed. "It is the best hunting grounds in all of the city, packed full of mice and birds and squirrels. Once the Park was open for all the cats in the city to hunt in. Until the Brothers came along and claimed it all for themselves and their band of brutes."

Silk's brow furrowed as she looked out towards the trees. She felt a strange longing to go there, to feel dirt under her paws and hear the wind rustling through the branches.

"Who are the Brothers?" Silk asked, the curiosity eating at her.

"There are three of them. Litter-mates." Delilah said in a low voice. "There's Dragon. He's the biggest and the strongest. And, there is Lancer. He's not as strong or as big as his brothers, but he's really clever. Then there's King… King is their leader."

"Why is King the leader if Dragon is stronger and Lancer is smarter?" Silk asked, brow furrowing in confusion.

Delilah's eyes nervously darted from side to side for a moment before she looked back at Silk.

"There's something about him… He's got this cold, dangerous energy that pulls cats towards him. Words come out of his mouth and cats either cower in fear or fawn at his feet," Delilah said.

Delilah shook her head, a shiver racing down her spine.

"He is also the most ruthless cat in the city," she meowed.

"They've gotten a big gang of cats together in the Park," Delilah continued. "They control them through violence and fear. They have the largest territory of any cat in the city and it keeps getting bigger as they push farther and farther out from the Park, driving cats out of their territories or killing them if they won't join them."

Silk swallowed, her fur pricking at the fear she could hear soaking Delilah's words. Delilah sprung to her paws.

"Let's go," Delilah meowed in her typical brisk way.

She turned and scaled back down from the roof.

Silk gave one last look at the Park from over her shoulder before following Delilah away.

* * *

Silk and Delilah patrolled their territory by night to avoid running into house-folk. One evening, just like all the others, Delilah was in front, trotting across the top of a brick wall, and Silk was right behind her, by her tail, her paws sure on the narrow trail. As they moved in silence, the muted evening city-noises were shattered by the snarling and howling of a dog. Silk looked in the direction of the noise, focusing intently to determine the threat. Delilah froze, her ears pricking towards the sound for a moment before carrying on her way, seemingly unconcerned. Silk looked back at Delilah and dashed over to her.

"Don't you want to check that out?" Silk asked, padding closer to Delilah. "It sounds like its coming from our territory."

"I don't mess with dogs," Delilah said curtly. "You shouldn't either if you value keeping your pelt intact."

Silk opened her jaws to reply.

Suddenly, the yowling of cats mixed in with the barking of the dog, causing Silk to freeze again.

"Someone's in trouble," Silk pointed out.

"Someone is trespassing," Delilah grumbled.

But, Delilah changed direction despite her protests, and now they were tracing a tangled path across the tops of the walls towards the sounds of the fight.

Silk put on a burst of speed, dashing around Delilah to get to the scene first. Silk peered down from the top of a high wall into a dark alley.

A huge, hulking brown mutt stood squarely in the center of the alley, snarling at the three cats he had cornered in front of him. The cats were pinned at the end of the alley, unable to scale the massive concrete wall that Silk stood on top of. The dog attempted to creep closer to them, but he was never able to get near enough to grab them. The cats held off his attacks every time; the three would lunge as one, fending the dog back with tight, closely coordinated strikes. Now the dog and the three cats stood still in a stalemate.

Drool was dripping from the dog's jowls. He was growling something to himself in a harsh, mumbling voice. Silk's ears pricked as she tried to decipher his words.

Delilah caught up with Silk and crouched next to her, peering down into the alley.

"That's them!" she gasped in a hushed voice. "The Brothers!"

Silk's gaze flickered back from the dog to the cats to study them intently. The biggest, Dragon, Silk presumed, was solid black and heavily scarred. His pelt almost completely blended in with the shadows of the alley, only his bright blue eyes cut through the dark. The leanest of the three, Lancer, was a patchy black and white, with long claws and green eyes. And then there was King, another black and white tom, with a fierce snarl and icy blue eyes that made Silk's blood run cold when they flickered upwards and met hers.

"Serves them right," Delilah said in a smug voice, but not loud enough, Silk noticed, for the cats below to hear them. "Unless the three of them have nine lives, I don't see them making it out of this one. Their reign of terror is finally at an end."

"Do you really think the dog will kill them? Why don't we help them? Do you want them to die?" Silk asked, looking at Delilah in surprise.

"They deserve it," Delilah snapped, looking equally surprised at Silk's defense of them. "They're in our territory! They could be here to kill us! You haven't been on the streets long enough to know what they do."

"But, they'd be powerful allies for us if we were on their side!" Silk argued, the fur on her shoulders prickling. "What if they granted us hunting in the Park?"

"The Brothers don't have allies," Delilah growled. "Only slaves."

Delilah turned away.

"Let's get out of here," she said.

Silk hesitated. She turned to look back down at the dog.

"Hey you!" Silk called, her normally soft voice becoming strange and grating sounding.

The three cats, Delilah, and the dog all looked up at Silk.

"Why are you chasing these cats?" Silk asked the dog.

A long pause of silence stretched out, where everyone seemed to freeze. Then to the amazement of Delilah and the Brothers, the dog's mouth began to move.

"Cats small. I chase. I hungry," the dog barked.

His accent was much harder for Silk to understand than Velvet's, but the words were still there, peeking out between the growls and snarls.

"Cats don't make good meals," Silk said, her words sounding more like yaps than meows as she responded in dog-tongue. "They have claws and fangs that hurt and cut. I can show you where to find food that will not bite back. House-folk food."

"You cat. How speak dog? Why I believe you?" the dog growled.

"I'm friends with dogs," Silk said. "My dog friend taught me. Do you want the food or not?"

The dog hesitated, his gaze flicking from Silk down to the three brothers in front of him before looking back up at the white she-cat.

"Where food?" he asked finally.

"There are big silver-bins full of house-folk food just a few blocks from here," Silk meowed. "I'll show you."

She got to her paws and trotted along the wall without even a glance down at the Brothers or the dog. Despite her bold exterior, her heart pounded in her chest, and part of her wondered if the dog would even follow, or if he would just fall upon the toms anyways. Silk didn't want to turn to look. She knew that would be taken as a sign of weakness. Weakness that she couldn't afford to show in front of the Brothers, if they were really as ruthless as Delilah claimed.

 _Speaking of Delilah…_

Silk realized that she was gone. She had vanished into the night at some point during Silk's conversation with the dog. The fur down Silk's back prickled slightly. If her gamble with the Brothers didn't pay off, then she just isolated or lost her only _…_

 _Well friend is too strong of a word_

 _…_ but ally, at least, out here.

Silk risked a glance towards the ground out of the corner of her eye. Despite herself, she was surprised to see the dog trotting beneath her. He had followed. Silk locked her eyes back forward. She led the dog away blocks away to an alley that was lined with the big silver bins. The dog passed beneath Silk at a faster pace as he caught scent of the house-folk food coming from them. With a strong push of his shoulder, he knocked two of them over and shoved his head into the contents, making snuffling noises. He began to crunch on something he found there.

Silk took this as a sign to depart before the dog changed his mind and decided maybe he actually did want something warmer to feast on. She turned and walked back the way she came at a brisk pace.

Silk followed the trail back towards her and Delilah's favorite sleeping spot, where they usually bedded when they were done patrolling during the night. She wasn't surprised to find Delilah already there. Silk braced herself as Delilah rushed towards her. She half-expected to feel her claws score down her pelt, but Delilah stopped just short of Silk.

 _"Are you freaking mouse-brained you good for nothing kitty-pet?"_ Delilah spat, arching her back, fur prickling down her spine.

"I'm doing us a favor," Silk said, only a slight twitching of the tip of her tail betraying her annoyance.

"I want nothing to do with the Brothers!" Delilah hissed.

 _"Is that so?"_

Delilah flinched and leapt a tail length back as three cats materialized out of the shadows behind Silk. Silk turned to look at them. She was unsurprised that they had followed her. But, the fact that they had been so undetectable about it was impressive.

The Brothers padded up to Silk. They hadn't made it out of their skirmish with the dog unscathed. Each of their pelts was adorned with new wounds, but none of the scrapes were anywhere close to severe.

At the head of the group was King. Face to face, he was even bigger than Silk expected. Dragon, though, was absolutely massive. He stood at King's shoulder and slightly behind him like he was his huge shadow come to life. On King's other side was Lancer, who was a normal sized tom, but there was something about the unstable glint in his green eyes that sent a shiver down Silk's spine. Silk's gaze flickered back to King's. His icy blue eyes seemed more stable than Lancer's, but their intensity was equally as frightening.

Silk lifted her chin and pushed away that fear.

"Hello," she meowed.

"You are the cat from the wall," King said, but the way he phrased his words made it seem like a question that wasn't a question.

"Yes," Silk said, answering him anyways.

King tilted his head slightly, a mixed expression of amusement and bemusement appearing on his broad face.

"You spoke to the dog," he said. "How?"

"I was once friends with a dog who taught me," Silk replied.

"Why did you do it?" King asked.

Silk's ear flickered. She did her best not to fidget under the heat of his gaze.

"I couldn't let him tear you up. It looks like you've already lost enough fur to him," Silk pointed out, a hint of teasing in her voice.

Lancer's green gaze snapped sharply to Silk, and Silk froze, wondering if she had over-stepped. But, to Silk's surprise, King just purred slightly at her response.

"What is your name?" King said, his voice deep and melodic.

"Silk," Silk said, swallowing slightly as she suddenly realized her mouth was dry.

"Do you know who I am?" King asked.

"You are King," Silk meowed.

"Why did you save us, Silk?" King repeated.

He flickered his tail to indicate Delilah, and Silk was surprised to realized that she had not run off, but was still there, frozen by fear, perhaps.

"Your friend seems to disagree with your decision there," King added.

Silk swallowed, staring into his blue eyes. She understood what Delilah had meant about King now. His eyes were paralyzing. They were inviting, but also threatening. They promised great rewards, but only if you did as he said, and if not, you would surely be punished. Silk felt the words being pulled out of her almost against her will.

"I want to live in the Park," Silk meowed. "And hunt the plentiful prey there."

A sudden purr burst from King's throat.

"That's good because I was going to extend and offer to you to join us," King said, his blue eyes glinting like sunlight reflecting off ice. "A cat that can speak dog-tongue could be very useful. And, you've shown yourself to be quick-witted and fearless."

 _Fearless?_ Silk's thoughts echoed.

Well, here she was standing in front of the three most dangerous cats in the city, and not a single piece of fur was ruffled. Would she ever thought that she was capable of that back when she was living with her house-folk? …Maybe she was fearless after all.

"I accept," Silk said, the words out of her mouth before her brain could even think about them.

"I suppose you won't be coming with her?" King meowed, his gaze sliding off of Silk for the first time to look at Delilah.

Silk heaved in a deep breath that she didn't even know she was holding when his eyes lifted off of her, while Delilah jolted like she suddenly regained the ability for motion.

"That traitor? No chance!" Delilah spat before turning tail and running as fast as she could.

Silk watched her go. She was slightly surprised that she didn't feel much more than a faint twinge at Delilah's departure. Despite the time they spent together, the bond that they had was hollow. It was only one of survival. And, now an opportunity came along that allowed Silk to have a better chance of survival. So, she took it. It would have also allowed Delilah a better life too. But, she was a fool, and she spurned it.

"Do you want me to…?" Lancer asked, inclining his head in the direction she went.

King shook his head, and the Brothers didn't move. Silk didn't doubt that they could have chased Delilah down and caught her if they wanted, but instead they let her go.

King's eyes flickered back to Silk.

"This way," he said, a purr in his deep voice as he turned to the side.

Silk hesitantly brushed past Lancer and Dragon, following King away while the other two brought up the rear. The four padded through the twisting streets of the city. Silk was surprised that the whole walk, they didn't encounter a single cat to challenge them. Silk's gaze flicker to King as she realized that this was the power of the Brothers.

Dawn was breaking as they took the final corner and a sudden wall of green met Silk's vision. The sun rising behind her illuminated the trees in a halo of gold. Silk gazed at it in awe, her mouth watering at the rich prey-scents that rushed out on the breeze to meet her nose. It was the most beautiful sight she'd ever seen.

King's icy gaze drifted from the Park to Silk. Silk's orange eyes flickered over to meet his blue ones.

"Welcome to your new home," he said, a lilt in his deep voice.


	2. A Killer in the Making

**Part Two: A Killer in the Making**

"Show me what you've got," King said, his white tail tip twitching as he sized Silk up.

It was almost a ritual by now. Since the first day Silk arrived here, King would take her away from the others and to a secluded part of the Park. Every one of their training sessions began the same way— "Show me what you've got." Then there was a flurry of movement, the slashing of claws, the clashing of fangs. King always won.

But, Silk was getting better.

Silk remembered how nervous she was the first time, when King told her to follow as he led her deep into the Park, and she didn't know what King wanted from her.

She couldn't just say no though; no one refuses King.

Silk sprang at King, baring her teeth. The massive black and white tom ducked, Silk flying harmlessly over his head. She was prepared for that though, and as soon as she landed, she pivoted, rearing up on her hind legs and slashing at him with her fore-claws. Her paws clashed with King's—he had been rearing up behind her after she landed, and would have had her pinned if she had not spun and slashed at him so quickly.

"Good," King growled in a deep, pleased voice.

They sprung apart for only a heartbeat before they clashed back together.

"No, go for the throat," King hissed as Silk's strikes bounced off his wide shoulders. "How do you expect to kill a cat by batting at his shoulders?"

"You want me to strike at your throat?" Silk meowed, her eyes wide. "Do you want me to try to kill you?"

"You won't kill me," King said, a mildly amused look in his blue eyes. "I would never let you."

Silk sprang forward with a renewed ferocity, claws slashing at King's throat. But they grazed only fur as King feinted out of her reach, moving with great speed for such a large cat. Silk leapt forward to follow him, but suddenly his paw was slamming down on her side, swatting her away like she was a pesky kit. Silk hit the ground hard, the shock of it vibrating through her bones, making her gasp as her breath was driven out of her mouth.

"That's enough," King meowed in his deep voice.

To Silk's annoyance, he looked unruffled, glancing at Silk as she wheezed from the ground, desperately trying to suck air back into her lungs. King padded over to her, standing next to her crumpled form, tail twitching impatiently as Silk finally caught her breath and managed to stagger back to her paws.

"You're too hesitant," King said, bending his head to look her right in the eye.

He was so close to Silk that she could feel his warm breath on her face. It smelt oddly sweet.

"Never back down. Strike to kill," King said. "Always. Any other blow is just wasting energy when you could have ended the fight from the beginning. Think about where to strike like you are hunting prey."

"The throat."

King lay his big paw against Silk's neck. Silk could feel her heart hammering in her throat against his paw as he applied some pressure. King lowered his paw back to the ground, moving to prowl around Silk. He was so close that his fur brushed against hers as he circled her.

"And, the back of the neck," King murmured.

Silk could feel his breath stirring the fur on the back of her neck. King pressed his muzzle to her fur there, and Silk had to repress a shiver, squashing the urge to shy away from his touch. After a lingering moment, he lifted his muzzle, and Silk gave a imperceivable sigh of relief.

"Our lesson is done for the day," King said.

His tone was dismissive, but his body still pressed closely to Silk's. Silk hesitated, her gaze flickering nervously from the trees around her to King's beautiful and frightening ice-blue eyes and back to the trees. She wanted to leave, but was unsure if she should. King angled an ear towards her questioningly.

"Unless you want to learn more…" King said, his smooth voice becoming a deep purr as he draped his tail over Silk's back, his eyes becoming half-lidded.

Silk swallowed, feeling that tug of his dark attraction, but she managed to give her head a quick shake.

"Sorry. I think I better go," Silk said, silently cursing herself at how breathless her voice sounded.

Silk disentangled herself from him in a careful, but brisk and firm manner. King's bright blue eyes reopened fully, and he straightened.

"Another time perhaps," King said.

The words he used left room for an option, but the tone in his rich voice was so certain, that Silk imagined it was only used by cats used to always getting their way.

 _No way,_ Silk thought.

"Perhaps," Silk agreed neutrally.

She turned and padded away from King and into the trees, grateful that he didn't follow. Silk first had been grateful for the special attention King paid her because it allowed her to quickly gain the respect of the other rogues, but now she was beginning to worry that he maybe liked her a bit _too much_.

Her tail twitched anxiously.

 _But, no one refuses King._

* * *

Silk rose early from her nest right before the break of dawn. From her nest, she could spot the nests of some other cats. Dragon, King, and Lancer slept within a few tail-lengths from each other under a massive bramble bush. The other rogues slept spread out here and there around their leaders. Silk's nest was rather close to the Brothers'— tucked against a tree, under a patch of ferns. King had told her to sleep there when she had first arrived, and Silk remembered that she had gotten some looks for it. Silk didn't understand at the time, but now that she had been there longer and gotten a feel for the structure within the rogue group, she realized that the higher ranking rogues, the ones that were friends with or were more favored by the Brothers, got to sleep closer to them. Apparently it had ruffled some pelts that Silk was allowed such a close spot to the Brothers as a newcomer.

 _Is it even really a good thing to sleep this close to them though? The Brothers are powerful, but they also seem liable to turn on you if you aren't careful._

Silk shook her head, dislodging the thoughts. It was not good to think such things. Silk sometimes even worried that King might be able to read her mind. After giving herself a quick grooming, she turned and headed into the trees to do her hunting for the day.

Silk had the forest all to herself right now. Not even the birds had begun to sing yet. She prowled towards the Eastern part of the Park, deciding to hunt there for the day. As she rounded a tree, she almost ran into another rogue.

"O'Malley," Silk said, immediately drawing herself up to her full height and dismissively blinking at the orange tom. "I'm hunting in this area this morning."

"Oh, forest not big enough for two cats, Silk?" O'Malley retorted, blinking back at Silk.

Silk swallowed. In truth, she didn't mind hunting somewhere else, and leaving O'Malley to hunt here for the morning. But, she knew backing down from this argument would be taken as a sign of weakness. Weakness that the other rogues… and King, would quickly exploit.

 _"Never back down,"_ King's voice echoed in her head.

"This part of the forest isn't," Silk said, taking a step towards him. "No one else is wake yet. Go hunt somewhere else."

"Why should I?" O'Malley asked, holding his ground. "Why don't you?"

"Fine," Silk said with a sniff. "I'll just go back to camp, get King, then come _back_ here to hunt with him."

O'Malley gave a quiet growl, but a hint of fear crept into his eyes at the mention of King, letting Silk know that he was beaten.

"Fine, I'll hunt somewhere else," he said, but his eyes glinting threateningly in the low light. "But, you won't be able to hide behind your mate forever, Silk."

 _King's not my mate_ , Silk thought.

But, she didn't correct him as he turned and padded away. Some rogues had been noticing the closeness between King and Silk, and they had started to assume that the two were mates. Silk knew she couldn't let the deception go on indefinitely, but for now, it was proving a useful tool for getting her way.

Silk waited a few moments to be sure that the rogue was gone, before she turned and continued through the woods, heading closer to the edge of the Park.

As she walked, Silk practiced her battle moves, swiping at the air, leaping and twisting, warming up her muscles for the hunt and refining her silks. King always wanted to see improvement, and Silk knew she had to keep her skills sharp in case O'Malley or one of the many other rogues decided to turn on her one day.

Silk pounced on a piece of bracken, giving the plant a bite, imagining that she was sinking her teeth into the back of a cat's neck, snapping its spine.

 _I bet a real cat would fight back more than that though,_ Silk thought, spitting leaves out of her mouth.

A loud purr of amusement echoed through the trees. Silk jerked her head up quickly in surprise, unsheathing her claws and whirling towards the noise. She blinked in surprise as an unfamiliar tom causally padded over to her. He was not one of the Brothers' rogues. She had never seen him before.

He was a large light brown tabby tom with leaf-green eyes that twinkled in the pale light of dawn.

"Geez, what did that poor plant do to you?" the unfamiliar tom asked, a purr still in his voice.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Silk demanded, baring her teeth at him.

The tom cocked his head at her.

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you," the tom said, looking slightly bemused. "I just saw you hunting that plant, and I thought I'd give some advice. Plants have really good noses, so next time, you should probably try approaching the plant from downwind—"

"I was practicing battle moves," Silk huffed, interrupting him, and drawing herself up to her full height to look as commanding as possible. "And, besides, this is not a joke. Leave this Park now."

"Why?" the cat asked, looking at her curiously.

"You are trespassing on the territory of the Brothers. King, Dragon and Lancer," Silk said in a low, grave voice. "They will kill you if they see you."

The tom purred, making Silk's eyes widen in shock at his unconcern.

"No, they wouldn't kill me if they see me," he said. "They'd have to catch me first."

Silk blinked several times, her brain trying to process his relaxed attitude. She flattened her bristling fur and studied him curiously.

"Who are you?" Silk repeated, but this time her voice was curious instead of demanding.

"My name is Whiskey," the tabby tom said cheerfully. "And, to answer your other question about what I'm doing here; I was hunting."

"King will kill you for that," Silk said flatly.

Whiskey purred again.

"But, you'll protect me right?" he said, blinking his green eyes earnestly at her. "I know you're a great fighter. I saw what you did to that plant. It didn't stand a chance."

"Oh, shut up," Silk said, but she had to swallow back a purr to get the words out. "I'm being serious. If it was up to me, you could stay and hunt in the Park. But, the fact is that the longer you stay here, the more likely it is that you die."

Whiskey twitched his whiskers.

"Well, I have to say that I am flattered that you care so much about my safety, considering you just met me," he said teasingly.

Silk snorted.

"I don't care about you," she said. "I'd just prefer that a cat doesn't get torn to shreds if I can help it."

Whiskey recoiled back, placing a paw on his chest like Silk had viciously slashed him there.

"I'm hurt," Whiskey said in a mock pout, his green eyes wide. "I thought we had something special going here."

"The only 'special' thing about you is how mouse-brained you are if you think you can take on the three Brothers," Silk retorted, but there was a faint purr in her voice.

Whiskey shook his head, a look of fake misery on his face. Silk's ears pricked as she heard the faint sound of a twig snapping in the distance. Silk felt the amusement drain out of her, as fear crept back in when she remembered how dangerous it was for her to be her, casually talking with a trespasser intent on stealing prey.

"You should leave," Silk insisted, her voice becoming low and serious again.

"Alright…" Whiskey finally agreed. "But, only because you look so pretty when you ask like that."

Silk felt her fur flush with heat at the compliment.

"Get going quickly," she mumbled, fiercely trying to ignore the heat.

She turned to walk away.

"Wait!" Whiskey meowed. "What's your name?"

Silk stopped, turning to look back at him.

"Silk," she said.

"Silk," he repeated slowly. "I like it… Silk, will I ever see you again?"

Silk shrugged, but she felt a small pang of disappointment at the thought of never seeing this strange, funny tom again.

"Not if you do what is good for you, and stay out of this Park," Silk warned.

"I never do what is good for me," Whiskey said with a mischievous purr. "It drove my poor mother crazy."

"Then maybe I will see you again," Silk said briskly with a nod, and she turned away again.

"How about tomorrow?"

Silk froze as she heard Whiskey ask from over her shoulder.

"Here? At dawn?" he meowed.

Silk felt her stomach flip like she had eaten a bunch of butterflies.

"Alright," Silk said, feeling surprise with herself at her reply.

Whiskey began to purr which made the excited fluttering worse. Silk swallowed hard to try to squash the feeling, and she turned to fix the handsome tom with the most scorching orange gaze she could manage.

"Now, mouse-brain," she said in a firm voice. _"Leave!"_

* * *

"Oh, you are such a mouse-brain," Silk said, as she swallowed back purrs of amusement.

"How so?" Whiskey huffed, a purr also in his voice.

The two of them were curled up closely in the crook of where a wide branch met the trunk of a tree at the very edge of the Park— through the twigs and the leaves, Silk could see the road where two-legs walked past. But, the denseness of the canopy hid them well from the two-legs… and from any other cats. Whiskey turned his head to look at Silk, and she could see the golden light of dawn glimmering in his eyes.

"You're being ridiculous! How exactly would you lead a pack of dogs to over throw the Brothers?" Silk managed to meow through the purrs that vibrated through her body.

Whiskey rolled his eyes like the answer should be obvious.

"Well, you grew up with a dog right?" Whiskey said, managing to stifle his purrs enough that he sounded at least passably serious. "That's why you can talk to them. We just ask them nicely to come chase King out of the Park, then bam! He's gone."

"And, why would the dogs do what we ask?" Silk said, shaking her head, but she was still purring.

"Duh," Whiskey said with a sigh of exasperation. "Dogs _love_ chasing cats. They would jump at the chance, no questions asked."

Whiskey shot Silk a scrutinizing look.

"You know, for a cat that grew up with a dog, you sure know nothing about them," he said hauntingly.

"You take that back," Silk said with a playful growl, poking his soft-furred belly with a paw.

 _"No,"_ Whiskey sniffed, narrowing his eyes at her.

With a growl, Silk grasped Whiskey with her paws, claws carefully sheathed, and she began to wrestle with him. Whiskey's serious composure broke, and he was soon vibrating with loud purrs as the two writhed on the branch.

"You're going to knock me out of the tree!" Whiskey gasped between purrs as Silk shoved him closer to the edge of the branch.

"Take it back!" Silk threatened, doing her best to swallow back her purrs to make herself sound more threatening.

"Never!" Whiskey proclaimed, but he squeaked rather undignifiedly as Silk gave him another shove, and he teetered closer to the edge.

"Alright!" he conceded, his green eyes wide.

"Alright what?" Silk said, stopping her shoving for a moment.

"I'm sorry. You know lots of stuff about dogs," Whiskey said.

Silk paused, flicking her ears thoughtfully like she was really considering the apology.

"And…?" Silk prompted.

"And, you're so smart and beautiful and I shouldn't ever doubt you ever?" Whiskey suggested, putting on his most winning expression.

Silk purred, feeling warmth spread through her chest.

"Okay. That's acceptable," Silk meowed, scooting back to allow Whiskey room to come back onto the center of the branch.

Whiskey moved back over to her, purring loudly, and he pressed himself closely to Silk, burying his face in her fur and sighing happily. Silk affectionately swiped her tongue over his cheek fur, but she felt her mind starting to drift.

It had been around a moon since she first met Whiskey. They had been meeting up daily ever since. Mostly at dawn, but sometimes during the night. Silk really liked the tom. In fact, she was worried that she might be starting to love him.

But, it was dangerous. Whiskey wasn't a part of the Brother's gang, and he showed no interest in joining them. The Brothers still didn't know that he was hunting secretly in the Park, and they would kill him if they caught him.

"I'm worried that the Brothers are starting to notice your scent around the Park. They're starting to recognize that the trespasser is just one cat," Silk murmured.

Whiskey stirred and blinked, he had been starting to nod off on Silk's flank.

"Really?" he asked through a yawn.

Silk's tail twitched. He still seemed just as unconcerned about the Brothers as he did the first day she met him.

"Yes," Silk said. "I'm worried."

"Don't be," Whiskey said, pressing his muzzle to Silk's cheek. "I'll hunt somewhere else for a bit, and we can meet up at a different edge of the Park. It'll throw them off."

"It's not just that," Silk said, tail twitching anxiously. "I think King is getting suspicious of me leaving on my own for so long. I tell him I'm hunting, but he knows that it shouldn't take me that much time. The other day he said he was surprised that I wasn't getting fat, for all of the hunting that I do. But, he wasn't being serious. He said it in this snide way, and there was this look in his eyes… he knows something is up."

Whiskey studied Silk silently as she talked. Silk sighed and shook her head.

"I don't know, Whiskey. King's also getting more persistent about… pursuing me," Silk said. "He doesn't understand why I don't want to be his mate."

Whiskey let out a quiet growl of jealousy.

"Because you don't love him," Whiskey said.

Silk pressed herself closer to him.

"I don't," she agreed in a soft voice, and Whiskey relaxed some. "But, I don't know if I can keep rejecting him forever. He might kill me out of spite. And, he's already beginning to doubt my loyalty."

"Why do you even stay here?" Whiskey said, straightening suddenly. "Why don't we just leave? You and me. We will go to the other side of the city, out of his territory."

Silk looked at him sadly.

"But, what if two-legs find us and capture us? The Park is safe from them. And, you know there is no better hunting grounds in the city than the Park," Silk said. "The Brother's territory gets bigger with every sunrise, and their gang grows bigger too. And, King has cats everywhere, even outside of his territory. If he wanted to find us and kill us, he would. Do you wanted to live a life being hunted?"

"Okay, well what about beyond the city!" Whiskey said earnestly. "Where King can't get us."

"Beyond the city?" Silk echoed, her eyes wide with nervousness as she thought about the wide world. "Whiskey… I don't know. Who knows what's out there."

"But, we would be together," Whiskey said softly, gently bumping his brown-striped head to hers.

Silk's orange eyes stared into his leaf-green ones.

"I know," she murmured, dropping her gaze. "I just need sometime to think about it."

"I understand," Whiskey said.

Silk closed her eyes, giving a quiet, miserable sigh.

"Hey," Whiskey said gently, softly nudging her with his muzzle. "It'll be okay, Silk. I will love you either way."

Silk's eyes flickered open in surprise.

"Either way? Even if I choose to stay here in the Park?" Silk asked.

Whiskey nodded.

"As long as…" Whiskey swallowed, looking a bit nervous. "As long as you love me too."

"Of course, Whiskey," Silk breathed, pressing her face to his.

Soon though, the sun was above the horizon, and Silk had to say goodbye to Whiskey. After a brief hunt, Silk headed back to camp, hoping that King had been sleeping in and had missed her absence. But, luck was not in her favor, and as she padded out of the undergrowth, Silk spotted him, sitting by her nest.

"Ah, Silk. I've been looking for you," King said.

He sat with his tail curled around his paws, looking deceptively calm, and his voice was as smooth as poisoned honey.

"Oh?" Silk meowed, looking as unconcerned as she could manage, although her stomach twisted nervously. "What do you need?"

"To speak with you," King said, his icy blue eyes shimmering. "I've heard some strange rumors from some cats about you…"

Silk held her breath.

 _Oh no… Whiskey._

"You and I being mates," King finished, and Silk had to stifle a sigh of relief, although nervousness quickly returned as Silk realized that she was still in dangerous territory.

"However," King continued. "We both know that's not true."

King studied her with icy eyes that seemed to tear away at her walls, peering into the secrets within her.

"Unless you've changed your mind?" King asked.

"No, sorry," Silk said, shaking her head.

"May I ask why not?" King said, his blue eyes still holding her frozen in his gaze. "The others seem to already think it's true. I've seen them do what you say because they think you are mine."

"I just…" Silk stammered. "I don't know."

"Is there another tom?" King asked, his eyes still transfixing her. "One who you fancy more than me?"

Silk blinked, and she felt the spell of his blue eyes break.

"No," she lied.

Her voice came out surprisingly calm and steady. King blinked at her.

 _Does he believe me?_

"Now, if we are done here…" Silk meowed, brushing past King like she was completely unconcerned with his presence.

"Where have you been this morning?" King asked in a calm voice, stopping Silk in her tracks.

"Hunting," Silk replied casually

"And, grooming?" he drawled.

Silk felt a pinprick of nervousness. After leaving Whiskey, she gave herself a complete and through grooming to remove any scent of him from her.

"Yes," Silk said, in an unconcerned voice, turning back to look at him.

"I see. Who have you been meeting?" King asked, in that same, calm tone.

That calm was somehow more terrifying than anger.

Silk felt icy cold tricking in her bones, but she kept her face neutral.

"I'm sorry?" she asked, tilting her head at him like she was confused.

"Don't play dumb," King said, and Silk could hear a hint of anger creeping into his voice. "Don't you think I've noticed your little disappearances at the strangest times? And, your scentless, immaculately groomed pelt when you return?"

Silk's throat became dry. She didn't know what to say, but she was spared replying because King continued.

"Let me show you something," King said, rising to his paws.

Silk followed him, and King led her through the trees and to a gathering of his rogues. Silk gazed at the group nervously, trying to figure out what was going on. Dragon and Lancer where there, along with dozens of other cats. More than Silk had ever seen in one place. Silk hadn't realized that so many rogues were in the gang.

 _All of these cats have joined with the Brothers? There are so many,_ Silk thought, her eyes wide.

The cats formed a loose circle around another cat… a tabby pelt that Silk recognized.

"Delilah," Silk breathed, her orange eyes going wide.

Delilah's dark tabby pelt hung loosely off her frame. Her bones jutted out from under her fur, and her amber eyes looked hollow. She looked that she barely had the strength to stand on her paws, but that didn't stop her from shooting vicious looks at the cats surrounding her. It didn't look like she had noticed Silk yet though.

"Lancer caught her trespassing on our territory this morning," King said to Silk.

Silk looked away from Delilah's emaciated form and up at King.

"She's your little friend from before isn't she?" King asked. "Doesn't look like she's been doing too well on her own, after we took her territory from her. Have you been meeting up with her and stealing prey for her?"

"No," Silk meowed firmly. "I've not been meeting anyone."

"Alright," King said, but Silk knew he didn't believe her from how his blue eyes glinted dangerously. "Then how shall we punish her for trespassing and stealing?"

Silk swallowed.

 _This is a test._

Silk gazed at Delilah.

 _He thinks I've been meeting her. I wants me to prove that I'm loyal to him. I have to do it, otherwise he will kill me, and it will put Whiskey in danger._

Delilah's eyes finally drifted up and met Silk's. Delilah's amber eyes widened in surprise at seeing her.

 _I'm sorry, Delilah._

"Kill her," Silk said, her voice coming out flat and icy. "That's your law."

King glanced down at Silk. Silk looked up at him, her face impassive. King gave her one nod, then strode forward, pushing past the cats that formed a ring around Delilah.

"You have been sentenced to death for stealing and trespassing," King said to Delilah, looming over her.

She crouched down, her fur bristling on her skeletal frame.

"No, I wasn't!" Delilah said, her eyes wide with fear, but her lips curled back in a snarl. "Wait— _gauhk._ "

King's claws slashed across her throat, an arc of deep red blood flying through the air. Delilah gasped as she choked on her own blood, the scarlet liquid bubbling at her throat and out of her mouth. She collapsed to the ground, her body convulsing weakly. After a matter of heartbeats, it was all over.

King turned and padded back over to Silk, ignoring the stares of his subordinates. Silk looked away from Delilah's glassy eyes and the steadily increasing scarlet pool. She felt some of the gazes of the rogues shift from King to her as King stood at her side.

"Come with me," King murmured to Silk.

The anger and the icy calm were both gone from his voice. Now there seemed to be a hint of warmth.

 _I must have passed the test,_ Silk thought.

Silk turned and obeyed King, following him back away from the group of cats, and Delilah's crumpled and bleeding form.

 _At least it's not mine or Whiskey's,_ Silk reminded herself.

She looked down at King's one red-stained paw. King led her away a bit so they were out of ear-shot of the group of cats. Then he settled down, wrapping his tail over his feet, masking the blood on his one paw. He gestured for Silk to sit as well with a nod of his head. Silk obeyed.

"Silk," King said. "You are a smart cat. I've known that since the moment I met you. And, you have a strength in you. It's the same strength I see in myself."

King turned and looked at her, and Silk got the feeling that he might be being honest with her for the first time ever.

"You are a fighter. You are a survivor," King continued. "The same as me. Dragon, Lancer and I, we started with nothing. Just three kits, trying to survive on the streets. Now look at us."

King gestured with his tail, indicating the Park and the cats there and everything else around him.

"Now we have a Kingdom," King said, his eyes shining with power and pride. "I have everything I could ever want… but you."

"Me?" Silk echoed, her eyes wide.

She felt off balance by King's bluntness. She was used to navigating his clever remarks and offhand flirtations. She was not equipped for this.

"Why do you want me?" Silk managed to ask.

"No other cat in the city would be a finer mate," King said simply. "I want you as my Queen."

Silk was silent, her mind whirling.

"You will have everything that you've ever wanted," King insisted. "My gang will follow you. My Kingdom will be your Kingdom. All you have to do is accept."

Silk gazed at King. She had to admit, a part of herself found the offer tempting. She would have security with King's protection. She would have prey and shelter and power. Her eye-lids fluttered uneasily.

 _But, what about Whiskey?_

Silk opened her mouth.

"Before you say anything," King said quickly, his eyes becoming a dangerous half-lidded gaze. "I must warn you… if you refuse me again, I will not ask another time. And, if I can't have you… then no one can."

Silk feel her blood become cold. She looked away from King, staring blankly out into the forest.

"I accept," Silk said.

* * *

Silk padded through the black forest, her paw-steps slow. Dawn wasn't far off, but for now the forest was still as dark as it was during the night. Silk tripped over a root she didn't see, and she cursed herself, stumbling back to her feet. Silk gazed down at her swollen belly, her brow furrowed.

Pregnancy made her paws slow and clumsy. She felt like a fat, bumblingly dog, stumbling through the trees.

Silk slowly continued her journey. She only made it a few more fox-lengths before she jammed her paw on a rock, causing her to stumble again.

" _Mousedung!"_ Silk cursed.

"Silk?" a voice called from not too far off, causing Silk's ears to prick suddenly.

"Whiskey?" Silk called back, forgetting about her throbbing paw and rushing towards the voice.

Silk rounded a bush and found him there, wreathed in grey shadows. Purring, Silk pressed herself to him, and she felt his purr vibrate through his body as he pressed back against her. Whiskey turned so that he was able to cover her face and ears in concerned, soothing licks.

"How have you been? How are you feeling?" Whiskey asked.

"I'm alright," Silk said quietly. "Sorry that I haven't been able to meet up with you for a couple sunrises. I didn't mean to worry you, I just couldn't get away."

Whiskey pressed himself against her more tightly.

"I was worried about you and the kits," he murmured. "I thought you may have gone into labor early."

Silk sighed.

"No, it's King," she said. "He's become super overprotective. He's barely left my side or slept at all for five sunrises. I only was able to get away now because his exhaustion finally caught up with him, and he collapsed."

Whiskey's brow furrowed, and he looked worried.

"You don't think he'll wake up and track you here?" Whiskey asked. "I don't want him to… you and the kits…"

Silk shook his head.

"He's dead to the world right now, don't worry," Silk said. "But, I'll go back soon, just in case."

Silk buried her face in Whiskey's light tabby fur, feeling dread settling over her at the thought of returning to King.

"Oh what was I thinking," Silk said, screwing her eyes shut. "I should have run away with you when I had the chance."

"No need to dwell on 'what if's'; it's too late for that now," Whiskey said in a brisk tone. "From how overprotective King sounds right now, if you run off, it seems like he will chase you right across the city to get you and the kits back."

"I hope they're yours," Silk murmured. "The kits. Not his."

Whiskey was silent for a moment.

"I wish that I didn't hope that," Whiskey muttered. "Because that would put you at risk, both you and the kits. It'll be safer for all of you, if they are all his."

Whiskey fell silent for a moment.

"But, I do hope they are too," Whiskey said.

He nuzzled Silk's face.

"Please be safe, Silk," Whiskey said. "If King finds out about me, not only will he kill me, but he'll kill you too for your betrayal."

"I know," Silk said quietly. "I know it's not safe for me to keep seeing you. But, I can't leave you. I can't forgot you. I love you."

"I love you too," Whiskey said. "And, I'll love your kits too, no matter what."

"Either way?" Silk asked.

"Either way," Whiskey agreed.


	3. A Queen is Born

**Part Three: A Queen is Born**

Silk sighed quietly, wrapping her tail around the tiny kits at her belly. She was exhausted. Tiredness seemed to drag at her very bones, tugging at her eyelids, begging her to sleep. Her kitting had be long and hard and lonely.

When she had felt her time was near, she had slunk off to a small bramble bush a little ways away from her normal sleeping spot under the ferns. The bush was more secluded and protected than her nest. Last evening, as the sun set, she had felt her instincts hissing at her to go to the most remote, protected area she could manage, and they had only quieted their screaming when she had clawed her way under the bush, the thorns tugging at her white fur until the bush opened up into a small hollow around the base of it. There she laid restlessly during the night as her contractions grew stronger, hissing at King when he got too close with his pacing around the bush. She had tried to claw him once too, when he tried to force his massive form under the bush to check on her after she had cried out in pain from the contractions.

Silk shivered. Her pelt had crawled at the thought of King being so close to her when she was so vulnerable, so she had sent him away with a flurry of slashes. Lucky for Silk, King seemed to have not taken it too personally since he had left her a mouse later in the night, placed carefully _outside_ of the bush. He also seemed to have gotten the message, and he hadn't tried to force his way in again.

Silk had finally given birth after dawn in the early morning, to three kits, all toms.

 _The three Brothers, all born again,_ Silk thought, a bit ironically as she looked down at her sons.

She closed her eyes, sighing again.

 _I wish Whiskey could have been here_ , she thought.

Unlike King, she would have let him join her inside the bramble bush.

Silk's eyes flickered open again as she felt her kits stir at her belly, mewing softly as they wiggled around, nestling more closely into her fur. The largest kit was predominately white, but he had a black tail, black ears, and black markings around his face. Silk studied his dark, striking mask. There was no question who he resembled.

 _'Dark,'_ she thought. _Named for his markings and for being King's son. I wonder if they will share that darkness._

Silk's gaze flickered to her other two kits. One was mostly white with just a faint dusting of a few small light brown tabby patches.

 _'Dusty' would be a good name for him,_ Silk thought, looking at the kit. _He looks like me, if I had tumbled a bit in the dirt._

Silk looked at her last kit; he was mostly light tabby brown, with white just on belly, chest and muzzle.

 _And, he will be 'Bronze_ , _'_ she thought, looking at his rich fur color.

Silk bent her head and breathed in the scent of those two kits, almost imagining that she could smell Whiskey's scent in their fresh, new ones.

 _Whiskey's sons._

Silk felt a rush emotion and a sudden lump appeared in her thought. She longed for Whiskey. She wished she was here. She wished she could take her kits and steal away to him. She'd take all of them, even King's son. Whiskey had promised her "either way."

"Silk?" King's deep voice meowed from outside of the bush, causing Silk to jolt. "Can I come in? I want to see them."

Silk hesitated, curling her long white tail protectively around her kits. She felt a rush of cold fear.

 _What if he knows? What if he kills them?_

Silk gazed down at her sons.

 _He knows nothing about Whiskey. He'll think they're all his._

Silk took a deep, trembling breath.

 _Besides, I wouldn't be able to hide them. He either accepts them all as his own right now. Or, we are all dead._

"Yes," Silk said, her voice miraculously coming out evenly.

The whole bush shook as King forced himself under it, cursing as the thorns dug into his black and white furred shoulders. But, he managed to make it to the more open hollow where Silk lay, and he huddled over her, shoulders hunched and blue eyes glowing softly in the dimness of the den.

"All males," he commented, looking down at Silk's sons.

Silk nodded.

"Just like you and your brothers," Silk said, studying his face carefully for any hint of suspicion there.

King looked pleased at Silk's words, and she felt a pinprick of relief.

"I had expected we'd get an all white one," King commented, looking at the kits. "Considering that I've got a lot of white fur, and you are as white as fresh-fallen snow."

Silk's stomached flipped, but King looked curious rather than suspicious.

"My brother was a tabby," Silk said with a shrug, hoping that King couldn't hear her racing heart.

King nodded, and Silk decided to press on before he had any more time to dwell on the kits' fur color.

"I've named them," Silk continued, gesturing to each kit in turn. "Dark, Dusty, and Bronze."

 _"'Dusty?'"_ King echoed, screwing up his nose at the name. "That's not very regal. I don't get to name any?"

Silk hesitated. The thought of King naming any of Whiskey's sons made her want to heave in disgust. But, she had to have King believe that they were _his_ sons, and as a father, he had a right to pick their names.

King glanced at Silk as the silence stretched on, and he finally shrugged.

"Whatever," he meowed. "Names aren't important. It's what the cat does that is."

He bent his head and nuzzled Silk. Silk held herself still, even though her instincts were to shy away.

"You did well, Silk," he said quietly. "They look strong and healthy. They will be fine princes."

"Thank you," Silk muttered, not looking in his eyes.

"I'll bring you some prey," King said, then he turned and shoved his way back out of the bush.

Silk bent her head down, resting her face by her kits and finally gave into the black embrace of sleep.

* * *

"Mom, watch me!" Bronze meowed, tearing as fast as he could across the clearing on his wobbly little kitten-legs.

Silk's sons were just a little under a moon old, and already they were turning into boisterous little things. Silk watched Bronze run proudly, purring encouragingly at him. Her sons were strong kits, and she could see Whiskey in them. Even though she had been unable to leave to visit him for about a moon now because she had to be here to care for her kits, their sons made her feel like he was right here with her every day. She saw Whiskey in Bronze's brash and goofy nature, and in Dusty's warm sensitivity and leaf-green eyes.

Dark sprung at Bronze as he rushed past, sending the two kittens tumbling.

"Did you see me Mom?" Dark bragged, icy-blue eyes gleaming from his dark face as he raised his head to look at her from where he stood over Bronze.

"Don't play too roughly, Dark," Silk scolded, her brow furrowing.

"Nonsense," King scoffed, striding into the clearing with a squirrel in his mouth. "They need to play rough to grow strong."

"Dad!" the three kits chorused, rushing over to King.

King blinked down at them, dropping the squirrel in front of them. Silk blinked in surprise when its body twitched. It was still alive. Dusty bent his head to sniff the squirrel curiously.

"What is that?" Silk asked.

King snorted.

"Are you blind, my dear?" he meowed, sarcasm dripping from his tones. "It's prey."

"I know that," Silk said, rolling her eyes. "But, they're too young to eat it. They are still drinking milk."

"That doesn't mean that they're too young to learn to kill it," King pointed out, and he bent his head down and nudged Dark, sending him stumbling towards the squirrel that was bigger than him. "Go on, Dark. Kill it."

Dark shot a glance up at Silk for a moment, before turning to look back at King.

"How?" Dark asked in his high-pitched kit voice.

"Use your claws to scratch at its throat," King said.

He nodded at Bronze and Dusty.

"Help your brother," he ordered.

Silk held her tongue as her three sons cautiously approached the squirrel. The first hit, by Dark, was hesitant, his paw barely brushing the squirrel's fur. The squirrel gave another twitch at the movement, and, spurned on by their instincts, suddenly all three of the kits were on the animal, slashing and biting.

The squirrel started to twitch more violently as the kits clawed at it, but then it fell still, finally giving one more trembling breath and dying.

Silk was quiet as her kits still curiously prodded at the now dead squirrel. Dusty bent his head and took a small, experimental bite from it.

"Dusty, you're too young to eat that. You'll make yourself sick," Silk scolded.

"But, it smells good Mom!" Dusty protested, blinking his big green eyes up at her.

"No," Silk said firmly. "None of you will eat the squirrel. It will make you sick."

Silk's eyes flickered up from her kits to King. King looked stonily down at Silk, looking like he might protest. Silk put on her sweetest voice.

"I'm sure your father or your uncles would be delighted to eat the squirrel you killed from them though," Silk said, blinking innocently up at King.

"Oh? Will you Dad?" Bronze asked, turning to King.

Her kits turned to look up at King, their chests puffed up in pride at their first kill. King glanced down at them, and Silk saw the thoughts flickering in his eyes. Silk could tell that a part of him wanted to tell the kits to eat it, if only because Silk said they shouldn't, but also he didn't want to disappoint the kits by not eating it himself.

Silk twitched her whiskers.

 _What strange games I've learned to play, using my own kits as pawns._

Silk looked down at her kits. Of course, she knew that one day they would have to learn to hunt. But, King having them kill the squirrel while they were still so young… it seemed almost needlessly cruel.

"Of course," King said in a smooth voice.

The kits squealed in excitement, running around King's ankles. King bent his head and devoured the squirrel in just a few bites. The squirrel already forgotten for the kits, they began tumbling around together, a tussle of brown, white and black. Dusty, the smallest of the three kits, was thrown out of the fray rather quickly. He stumbled back to his paws, tottering forward on his little kit-legs to attack his brothers again, when he paused to cough, his small body shaking with the force of it.

Silk rose to her paws, all of her attention snapping to her son.

"Dusty, are you okay?" she meowed.

"Yeah," Dusty said as the coughing subsided.

He swiped his tongue around his lips, and Silk spotted a flash of crimson blood on his lips.

"Is that blood?" Silk said, her brow furrowing in concern as she walked over to Dusty.

"Relax," King drawled, lying his tail across Silk's back. "It's just some blood from the squirrel. I bet he breathed in a bit of its fur, and that's what making him cough."

Silk shrugged off King's tail, but she didn't protest with his explanation. She settled back down, sitting on the ground as she watched her sons closely.

* * *

Silk was awoken in the middle of the night by the sound of coughing. Her orange eyes snapped open, and she looked down at the kits at her belly. Dusty was doubled over, his shoulders shaking with coughs. Silk saw him hack up something from his mouth, and her fur prickled in fear as it gleamed crimson in the moonlight.

"Shh, shh," Silk said, doing her best to sound soothing, although her heart was pounding in concern.

She rasped her tongue over Dusty's small back as his coughing faded away, and he drifted back to sleep nestled against his brothers, exhausted. Bronze stirred slightly.

"What was that?" Bronze meowed, yawning.

"Your brother was just coughing a bit. Go back to sleep," Silk murmured, forcing the words to sound calm.

Bronze drifted back off at his mother's words. Although Silk remained awake, her heart hammering with fear as she stared tensely out into the night.

* * *

"We need to do something," Silk hissed.

Every part of her felt frazzled. Her fur stood on end. Exhaustion dragged at her eyelids from the past several sleepless nights. She grit her teeth in anxiety and frustration as she glared at King. They were cramped under a small juniper bush together, deep in conference, away from the curious ears of other cats.

King shook his head, his blue eyes stormy.

"What can we do?" he muttered through gritted teeth.

"Dusty is so weak he can barely leave the nest," Silk spat, the fur down her back bristling in rage. "Two days ago, Bronze started to cough up blood too. And, don't think I haven't noticed Lancer coughing into his shoulder either!"

"I know!" King growled.

He shook his head.

"There are some cats in our gang that know about plants that can help with sickness, but none of them have heard of this Bleeding Cough," King said. "I've already asked them."

Silk lashed her tail.

"Then we need to look harder!" Silk spat. "Ask more cats!"

"Where? Who?" King demanded, whirling to look at Silk.

"I don't know!" Silk cried dejectedly, sinking her claws into the ground in frustration. "Maybe we have to take Dusty and Bronze to some two-legs. House-folk know things that can help cats—"

"YOU WILL NOT TAKE MY SONS TO TWO-LEGS!" King thundered, looming over Silk, blue eyes sparking threateningly.

 _They aren't your sons!_

Silk bit back the words.

"Fine," she hissed. "Then you must find a cat that can help us."

"I'm try—"

King was interrupted by a cough that shook his wide shoulders. He bent his head, and Silk saw a few droplets of blood fly from his mouth and onto the dirt below.

 _"Rat-dung,"_ Silk whispered the curse, and she took a step back from King to avoid the blood.

King's coughing subsided, and he glanced back up at Silk.

"We will find a cure," he growled, then brushed past her, out of the bush, and padded away.

* * *

Silk padded through the cold, stone streets. Her fur prickled as she looked at the brick walls rising around her and the long shadows that they cast in the night. It was the first time that she's set a paw outside of the Park in moons. She had forgotten how miserable it was out here.

 _But, I have to keep going. For Bronze and Dusty._

No cure had been found for their sickness yet. Now, it had King in its claws too, along with Lancer. King was putting on a strong face, but Silk could see it tearing him up from the inside. And even little Dark didn't know what to do with himself. With his brothers and father sick, the kit had become lonely, sad and confused. Silk hardly had time for him, with all of her attention focused on her sick kits.

With King growing too weak to travel, Silk left her kits in the Park in the care of a few queens that she trusted, and she went out to search for the cure herself.

 _Well not by myself,_ Silk thought, shooting an annoyed glance over her shoulder.

Dragon was following her like a hulking, black shadow. Silk thought that maybe King sent him with her to watch her, to make sure she didn't run off. Even after all these moons, Silk knew that he didn't trust her completely. But, maybe Dragon really was her for her protection, like he said. Or, maybe it was something else entirely. Maybe King wanted Dragon away from him, so he didn't fall sick like King and Lancer.

Silk shook her head. Whatever it was, despite her annoyance at being shadowed, she had to admit that she was a little grateful to have the huge cat here to help her against whatever threats that they came across.

They were heading towards the very edge of the city, out of even the Brother's expansive territory. They were going to where the city ended, and apparently, there was nothing but harsh, unlivable wilderness beyond, filled with beasts. There were creatures that were said to be like a mix between a dog and a cat, but had bright red fur and loved to feast on kits. There were even said to be larger creatures that were black and white, which could eat grown cats.

Silk clenched her jaw at the thought.

But, by asking around, Silk had a lead that this Bleeding Cough had been heard of before, by some cats that lived in that area. So, that's where her paws were set to lead her next… whatever monsters she may find there.

Silk and Dragon padded on. She was using the sun to judge their general direction since now that they've left the Brother's territory, they were in entirely unfamiliar territory. It was risky to travel during the day with so many two-legs around, but they had no other option for navigation. And, now that night had fallen, they would have to find shelter soon, or risk wandering in the wrong direction.

"Silk," Dragon's deep voice rang out, snapping her out of her thoughts.

She glanced back at the big cat, her bright orange eyes meeting his blue ones.

"I smell dog. It's close," he growled.

Silk lifted her nose into the air, sniffing cautiously. The strong, familiar scent of dog met her nose. Silk could feel Dragon's eyes on her. She was the Dog-Speaker after all, and so he deferred to her to see what she would do.

"Let's find it, but stay alert in case it's aggressive," Silk said.

Dragon nodded, and the two continued forward with more caution. It wasn't hard to follow the strong scent. After a bit of walking, the cats rounded a corner and Silk's gaze flickered to movement in the shadows at the edge of the street. A tan dog with long, floppy ears and a skinny tail was sniffing around the ground, searching for food. Silk quickly evaluated the animal, her gaze scanning over him. He wasn't a very large dog, although he was bigger than Velvet was. And, although he was thin, he wasn't starving. This was a good sign. That meant that he wasn't desperate, and would likely not attack.

"Hello," Silk said, padding a little closer to the dog, the words grating in her throat.

Silk licked her lips. Her dog-tongue was rusty since it has gone moons without use. At the sound of her voice, the dog's head snapped up in surprise, his long ears raising slightly as his gaze flickered to Silk.

"Was that you?" the dog asked, his dark eyes flicking nervously from Silk to the big, scarred Dragon behind her.

Silk was relieved that she could understand him well, his dog accent was light; just a faint growl that underlaid his words.

"Yes," Silk said, her voice sounding bark-like. "I speak dog."

"I haven't met a cat that could speak dog before," the dog said, taking a nervous step back, his tail lowering.

"We mean you no harm," Silk said quickly, lowering her tail in a gesture she knew dogs found unthreatening. "I just need some directions. We are heading to the edge of the city."

The dog stopped backing away.

"Edge?" the dog asked, his eyes blinking in confusion.

"Where there are no more streets. Where there is forest and trees and plants as far as the eye can see," Silk explained, her voice friendly and soothing so that the dog would feel at ease.

"Oh," the dog said, giving his head a shake. "You mean the Beyond. You are close."

The dog raised his long muzzle, pointing his nose to the left.

"Follow those streets in a straight line. You will start to smell air that is sweet before you see it," he said.

"Thank you," Silk said, her pelt pricking excitedly.

The dog gave a nod, looking pleased that he had been able to help her, the strange cat that spoke dog.

Silk turned to go, but then hesitated a moment.

"Wait," she said, looking back at the dog.

He glanced at her, lifting an ear expectantly.

"The reason that I've come here… have you ever heard of a sickness that makes you cough up blood?" Silk said hesitantly.

The dog took a jerky step back, his eyes widening in fear.

 _"By Lupus,"_ he whispered.

Silk didn't recognize the words, but the way he said them made her think they were a curse.

"What?" Silk said, her voice losing the friendly edge and becoming demanding as she felt icy tendrils of fear creep through her as well.

"Yes, I've heard of that sickness," the dog said, his voice a growl. "Although I have not seen it for seasons. The last time I've caught scent of it was when I was a pup."

"Do you know how to cure it?" Silk asked, trying to keep the desperation she felt out of her voice. "I've heard of a plant…"

The dog nodded.

"It's a flower," he agreed. "But, you need its roots."

"Do you know where to find it?" Silk asked.

The dog shook his head.

"I cannot help you with that," the dog barked. "As I said, I've not seen this sickness, or those flowers, since I was a pup."

"I understand," Silk said quietly.

The dog glanced at her, hesitating.

"The flowers were blue with yellow centers, and they grew by water," the dog added, seemingly taking pity on her. "And, the roots taste foul. Those are the plants you need."

"Thank you," Silk said.

"If I may give one more piece of advice," the dog continued, his voice dropping low with a growl. "Don't bother with the flowers. Run. Before it's too late. Get as far away from that sickness as you can, before your insides are clawing you up too."

Without another word, the dog turned and dashed away.

"What did he say?" Dragon rumbled, interrupting Silk's thoughts.

She gave her head a shake, shoving the fear that swirled in her at his words deep, down inside of her, where she could no longer feel it.

"He told me where to find the plant," Silk said, her voice even.

* * *

Silk and Dragon followed the dog's instructions. As they rounded the final corner, Silk was surprised to see the houses falling away and being replaced by trees as she gazed down the street. The houses became less and less frequent in the distance, instead more and more trees towered up around them, until, the very road itself was swallowed by the woods and by darkness. Silk's breath caught in her throat as she gazed at the endless expanse of it.

In the deep recesses of her mind, Silk felt a memory surface. It was her and Delilah, on a roof one starry night, much like this one, looking out at the Park in the distance.

 _"Is it a forest?"_ memory Silk asked, about the Park.

 _"Not even close,"_ Delilah had replied.

 _A real forest,_ Silk thought, her eyes wide in awe.

"I thought the city went on forever," Dragon's gruff voice snapped Silk out of her thoughts.

She glanced over at him. She was surprised to see that the big tom looked unsettled, his fur bristling slightly as he gazed out at the trees.

"You mean you thought we would never actually make it here?" Silk asked, her brow furrowing. "And your brothers, and my sons, _your nephews,_ would die?"

Dragon winced like her words had struck physical blows.

"I do not want them to die," Dragon rumbled, a hint of anger in his voice in response to the accusation in hers. "But, the edge of the city sounded like a kit's dream to me."

Silk shrugged.

"Well everything must end, right?" she asked. "Even that forest."

Silk flicked her tail to indicate the sea of green in front of them.

"Must eventually stop."

Dragon clenched his jaw, looking out at the trees.

"Come on," Silk said to him, pulling his gaze away from the forest.

The scent of freshwater nipped in her nose, and she could just faintly hear the sounds of a trickling stream.

"Let's find this plant."

* * *

It took them two full sunrises of searching the edge of the stream, but Silk and Dragon finally did it. They found the blue flowering plant that matched the dog's description. The two of them dug up the roots, then stuffed their mouths with as much as they could carry, and headed back to the Park.

It took them another full day of travel to make it back. Silk was exhausted by the frantic pace of their travel as she limped across the street into the trees of the Park. But, Silk didn't shaken her pace as she walked to their nesting sight. She head straight for her kits. As she walked, it took her a moment to notice Dragon was no longer behind her.

 _Went to his brothers, no doubt._

Silk brushed around a patch of bracken, her gaze finding her den. There was a light grey she-cat in there with her kits. Silk let out a sharp breath of relief to see that all of her kits' flanks still rose and fell in breath.

"Silk," The grey she-cat said, her eyes blinking in relief to see her.

"Hello Flower," Silk meowed after she dropped the roots from her mouth and on the ground. "How are they?"

"Dusty and Bronze are weak," Flower murmured in a quiet voice. "But, Dark still seems healthy. Did you find a cure?"

"Yes," Silk said, pawing at the roots.

"That's all of it?" Flower asked, her eyes stretching wide as she looked at the small pile. "In the days you've been gone, more and more cats have started to fall ill…"

"My kits will have the roots first," Silk snapped, her fur bristling.

Flower cowered, her ears flattening back.

"Well, of course they will Silk," she stammered.

Silk felt a stab of guilt as she thought of some other she-cat's poor kits being wracked by this sickness.

"There are more plants," Silk meowed. "We can send more cats to get more roots for everyone."

Flower nodded.

"Good idea, Silk," she meowed.

"Thank you of watching my kits, Flower," Silk said. "You may go now."

"Thank you," Flower murmured, rising to her paws and slipping off.

Dark stirred as Flower jostled him while rising.

"Mom!" he meowed, his blue eyes flying open wide as he saw Silk.

"Hello Dark, how are your brothers?" Silk asked, barely shoot him a glance before bending her head down to breath in her son's scents.

They still had that sweet kit-scent, but it was overlaid with a blanket of sour sickness.

"They sleep all of the time. They don't want to play with me," Dark complained.

"They're sick," Silk scolded, her brow furrowing as she glanced at Dark. "But, don't worry. I brought them the cure. They will be able to play again soon."

"Really?" Dark asked, his tail sticking straight up in excitement. "Tomorrow?"

Silk let out a quiet purr.

"Maybe not tomorrow, but soon," she said, her voice softening.

Dark took Silk's softening demeanor as an invitation to pad over to her, burying his face in her white fur.

"I'm glad you're back Mom. I missed you," Dark said.

Silk rasped her tongue over his head briefly.

"I missed you and your brothers too," Silk meowed. "Now let's wake them up. They need to eat this."

Silk managed to rouse Bronze with two nudges to his flank. His orange eyes flicked open weakly.

"Mom?" he rasped.

"Eat this," Silk said, shoving a piece of root at his muzzle with her paw.

Bronze crunched it obediently, but then screwed his nose up after one bite.

"Yuck! What is that? It tastes gross!" Bronze protested.

"You need to eat it," Silk said firmly. "It will make you better."

Bronze looked like he might refuse, but Silk's burning gaze warned him against it, and he ate the rest without complaining.

"Water," Bronze rasped.

"Dark, go find someone to get your brothers some moss soaked in water. Tell them Silk told them to do it," Silk said.

"Alright!" Dark said, seemingly happy to be given a task, and he dashed off.

"Dusty," Silk said, nudging her other kit.

Dusty didn't stir.

"Dusty wake up," Silk said more loudly, giving his little body a firmer nudge.

Dusty's eyes drifted open, but reminded half-lidded, his green eyes glazed.

"Eat this," Silk said, pushing the root in from of his muzzle. "It will make you feel better."

Dusty slowly choked down the root, only letting out a little mew of protest at the taste. He coughed weakly, small droplets of blood flying from his mouth, some collecting in his jowls.

"Dark is bringing you some water too," Silk said to him.

But, Dusty's eyes were already drifting shut again as he slipped back into sleep. Silk's stomach flipped anxiously as she gazed at him. Dark returned with a brown tabby who was carrying moss soaked in water. Bronze drank deeply, but after Silk woke Dusty again, he barely had the strength for a few licks. Both Bronze and Dusty fell into a deep sleep, and Silk felt her own exhaustion dragging at her. She glanced over at the meager supply of root that remained. She split the pile in half.

 _Half for another dose for Dusty and Bronze tomorrow,_ she thought.

Then the other half…

She could give it to King and Lancer, although she was sure that was where Dragon took his roots to. So, she could give it to some of the other cats that were sick. Or she could…

"Dark," Silk said. "You should eat this."

She pushed at root towards him.

Dark wrinkled his nose up.

"But, I'm not sick! And, Bronze said it tasted gross," Dark meowed.

"It will keep you from getting sick, just in case," Silk said. "Here, I will eat one too. We can do it at the same time, okay?"

"Okay…" Dark meowed slowly.

Silk lapped up her root, and Dark obediently did the same. As Silk crunched down, a strong bitter taste flooded her mouth, and she felt an urge to spit the root out. But, instead she forced herself to swallow, and was relieved when Dark did the same. Silk curled herself around Dusty and Bronze.

"I'm going to sleep now," Silk murmured, lying her head down on her paws. "Don't go far, Dark."

Silk didn't hear what he replied before she drifted off.

* * *

Silk awoke the next morning to the feeling of an oddly cold touch to her belly. Her eyes flickered open and she glanced down. Her three kits were curled at her side. Dark and Bronze's flanks rose and fell in a steady rhythm, but Dusty seemed strangely still…

 _"Dusty!"_ Silk screeched.

Dark and Bronze startled at her scream, but Silk ignored them. She was too busy frantically licking Dusty's sides, her heart hammering so hard that she was sure it was going to burst right out of her chest. But, her licks had no effect. The little white and tabby kit was cold and stiff, long gone from this world. The little crimson drops on his lips were the last signs of life in him.

There was no point in trying. Silk finally managed to slowly pull herself back from Dusty, a hollow ringing in her chest.

 _He's gone. He's gone._

"Mom?" Dark mewed in a quiet voice.

"Silk," A deeper voice echoed.

Silk's head jerked up at the sound of the voice.

It was King. Silk's gaze barely flitted over him. He looked weak, a bit wobbly on his legs, but it seemed like he still managed to make it over to Silk rather quickly at the sound of her cry.

"He's dead," Silk meowed, her voice empty. "Dusty is dead."

Silk hung her head, her eyes shutting as grief shuddered through her.

"He was sick," King said.

The aching sadness inside of Silk was replaced with fiery rage as the fur down her back rose.

 _"I found the cure!"_ Silk snarled, launching herself out of her nest and lunging at King.

King didn't flinch. Silk stopped just short of him. The two stood nose to nose for a moment, whiskers almost brushing.

"I found the cure," Silk repeated in a growl. "He wasn't supposed to die."

"He was already too weak," King said. "The bitter-root couldn't heal him."

 _"How can you say that!"_ Silk spat, digging her claws into the ground. "You didn't care about him at all!"

"I did," King growled, narrowing his eyes at her. "But, he wasn't strong enough. There is no room for weakness here. Now you will be able to focus your energy on Bronze and Dark, and there is a better chance that they will survive."

"You fool!" Silk spat, all of her fur bushing out. "If there is no room for weakness, why did you and Lancer even bother taking the cure?! Maybe you two are weak. But, I didn't get sick. Maybe I am the one who is meant to survive. NOT YOU!"

King snarled, looming over Silk. Silk felt a flash of cold fear in her stomach, but she did not flinch back.

"I will forgive you for those words because I know right now you are mad with grief," King growled, his voice low and dangerous. "But, if you ever speak to me that way again, I will claw your tongue out myself. Understood?"

Silk glared mutinously at King, wishing she was able to burn through his skull with the heat of her gaze.

"Yes, King," Silk growled.

"Good," King growled. "Now your kits need you. I will see to Dusty's body."

King turned, padding over to Silk's nest, where he bent his head down and picked Dusty up. The kit seemed so tiny in King's jaws.

Silk gazed at Dusty, limp in King's grip.

 _He didn't even get a chance to meet his real father._

King turned away and carried Dusty off into the trees. As his form disappeared, Silk crumpled to the ground, unable to find the strength to stand any longer.

 _Whiskey…_ she cried in her mind. _I wish you were here. You would know what to say. What to do._

"Mom?"

Silk glanced up. It was Dark. He had padded over to her, concern in his blue eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm trying to be," Silk rasped, her body trembling.

"What's Dad doing with Dusty?" Dark asked.

"He's taking him away," Silk murmured, feeling her eyes drifting shut.

"Why?" Dark asked. "When's he coming back?"

"He's not coming back, Dark," Silk said, her voice tight, the grief pounding even harder in her chest at the words.

"What! Why?" Dark asked again.

 _"He's dead!"_ Silk snarled, her eyes flying open as she glared at Dark.

Dark took a frightened step back from her.

 _I wish Dusty hadn't died. He was Whiskey's son. He was good. I wish it had been you that died instead. You are filled with your father's darkness._

Silk immediately felt a sharp stab of guilt at the thought.

 _No!_ she argued back at herself. _I don't wish that. It's not true! Dark is much my son as Bronze and Dusty are._

"I'm sorry Dark. I didn't mean to scare you. It's like Dusty has fallen asleep," Silk murmured in a softer voice. "And, he won't wake up again."

"But, I'll miss him," Dark said, blinking hard.

"I'll miss him too, Dark," Silk said.

Silk managed to pull herself to her paws. King was right about one thing. She still had Bronze and Dark to take care off. Silk staggered back to her nest. Bronze had fallen back asleep. Silk roused him with a touch from her nose, unsure of how much of their conversation he had heard. Bronze's eyes flickered open, and Silk shoved a piece of root at him.

"Eat. It will make you stronger," Silk said.

Bronze ate the root without a word.

"Mom," he meowed in a quiet voice after he finished chewing. "You told Dark Dusty is dead. Am I going dead too?"

"No, Bronze, you aren't going to die," Silk meowed firmly. "The root will help you heal okay?"

"Okay," Bronze murmured.

Silk curled herself around him.

"Soon you will be strong again," Silk said.

An image of Whiskey formed in her mind.

 _And, once you are healed enough to be left alone, I will meet with Whiskey. Then we will wait until you grow bigger and stronger we will take you, and Dark, far from here. Away from King, we can leave the city and travel into the forest. There will be no more politics, no more games, no more lies. The four of us will finally be a family._

Silk closed her eyes, sighing.

 _Although, Dusty won't be here to see it._

* * *

It took many many sunrises, but the root did its work. Bronze, King, and Lancer, all began to heal. Their coughing subsided, and their strength and energy were slowly returning. Silk watched Bronze playing with Dark with shining eyes.

"Go easy on your brother, Dark," Silk said as he bowled Bronze over.

"I'm okay Mom!" Bronze said, regaining his paws, and giving his tabby coat a shake.

Silk nodded and the two continued their wrestling.

 _Bronze is healed enough that I'll be able to leave him alone tonight, and go meet Whiskey. I wonder if I can even find him. Will he be at the usual spot? I've been gone for almost two moons now, what if he's given up…_

Silk shook her head. There was no point in worrying. She would find out tonight if he was there or not.

The day passed and the sun dipped towards the horizon. Silk waited until it was deep into the night before slipping out of her nest, leaving her two kits sleeping soundly there, and heading out into the trees. Silk stalking silently through the undergrowth, heading to the place where she first met Whiskey at the edge of the Park. When she reached there, there was no sight of any other cat. Silk slowly padded around, scenting the air and searching for any sign of him.

 _"Silk?"_

Silk whirled around, and there he was, Whiskey, padding out of the bushes, his green eyes bright in the moonlight, his brown tabby coat sleek.

"Whiskey!" Silk meowed, running over to him.

He greeted her with a purr, pressing his body against hers as they twined around each other. A bit startled, Silk noticed that he was skinnier than when she last saw him, his bones faintly poked out from under his fur.

"Are you okay? How are the kits! How many! What are their names?!" Whiskey bombarded Silk with excited questions.

"Wait, you first," Silk meowed, her brow furrowing. "Why have you gotten so thin?"

Whiskey shrugged her concern away.

"Well the Brothers have been expanding their territory, as I'm sure you know. It makes hunting a bit more difficult," Whiskey said. "But, don't worry about me! Tell me about you!"

Silk purred at his enthusiasm, her heart already warming just from his presence.

"Alright. There are three kits, all male," Silk said.

Whiskey let out a louder purr of delight, looking at Silk with expectant eyes, waiting for her to continue.

"Their names are Dark, Bronze, and Dusty. Dark is black and white. Bronze and Dusty are brown tabby and white," Silk said.

Whiskey continued to purr.

"Bronze looked just like you," Silk said, her eyes becoming misty. "But he has a white belly and my orange eyes. Dusty has your greens eyes though… But… Dusty is dead…"

Whiskey stopped purring.

"Oh no. Silk what happened? Are you alright?" he asked.

Silk blinked hard, feeling slightly sick to her stomach.

"He died of a sickness. We found the cure, but it was too late," Silk muttered, her whiskers drooping.

Whiskey licked Silk's head comfortingly.

"My love, I'm so sorry," he murmured.

"I wish you could have met him before…" Silk swallowed, getting choked up.

"I wish I could've too," Whiskey said. "I'm sure he was an amazing kit."

"You will meet your other son though. And, Dark," Silk said, conviction strengthening her voice and driving away a bit of the grief.

Whiskey pulled away from her a tiny bit.

"Silk… are you sure that is a good idea?" Whiskey asked. "I need you and your kits to be safe…"

"But, I need to be with you," Silk said, her eyes searching Whiskey's desperately. "I can't stay here. I won't say anything to the kits yet. We will wait a little bit longer, until they are bigger and stronger, then we will all run away. I know where the city ends. There is a forest there. We can leave this place forever and be together. All of us!"

Whiskey blinked down at Silk.

"If that's what you want…" he said slowly.

"It is," Silk said firmly. "Whiskey, I love you. I was a fool to not leave with you before. I'm sorry it took me so long to figure it out, be we will make it right—"

 _"TRAITOR!"_

The voice shook Silk to her very core. She and Whiskey spun around and out from the bushes stalked King, his black and white fur bristling, his blue eyes on fire, the likes of which Silk had never seen before.

"King!" Silk said, her claws unsheathing and her back arching defensively. "What are you doing here?"

"I followed you, you snake-hearted she-cat!" King spat. "I saw you leaving the dens, and I wondered why you would leave our sons alone in the middle of the night."

King narrowed his eyes at her.

"Although now I know why. They aren't _my_ sons," King growled.

He looked over at Whiskey, taking in his light tabby fur.

"At least, Bronze isn't."

"Leave Silk and her kits alone," Whiskey said in a low voice, taking a step in front of Silk. "I'm the one you want. I'm the trespasser, prey-stealer. They have done nothing wrong."

"'Nothing wrong?'" King echoed incredulously, letting out a harsh purr of laughter. "Silk is a traitor and her son is proof of that treason."

King bared his fangs at Whiskey, a growl shaking through him.

"But, if you want to die first, you piece of rat-dung, be my guest," King said. "Then it'll be you Silk. Then Bronze."

With a ferocious yowl, Whiskey launched himself at King.

"Whiskey!" Silk cried desperately.

King reared up on his hind paws to meet him, snarling savagely. Claws met flesh and blood flew from both tabby fur and black-and-white. King cuffed Whiskey across his head, knocking him to the side.

 _I need to help him!_ Silk thought, her heart hammering.

The fighting lessons King taught her came rushing back, filling her from the tips of her ears down to the tips of her claws.

 _I've never beat him before._

Silk bounded forward.

 _But, this time I have help._

Silk sprung on King from behind, digging her fore claws into his shoulders and biting down towards the back of his neck, aiming to sever his spine. But, King, having taught her, knew that was where she was striking, so he withed under her, and her fangs met only the loose skin of his scruff instead. With a powerful shake, King threw her to the ground. She landed on her side, her breath knocked out of her for a moment. As she struggled to regain her footing, King and Whiskey resumed their terrifying dual, blood and fur splattering the forest floor around them. Silk noticed that King seemed a bit slower than normal; he was likely still recovering from the Bleeding Cough. But, he was better fed than Whiskey, who was a big cat like King, but frail with hunger.

Silk came stumbling back to her paws, and darted forward to slash at King. King whirled towards her with a furious snarl, but then Whiskey was slashing at him from the other side. King's head snapped back and forth, trying to decide which way to strike. In a moment of distraction, Whiskey managed to land a debilitating blow, slashing a gash across King's stomach. King grunted in pain at the attack, staggering backwards.

 _He can't beat us together! We've got him!_ Silk thought, her lips curling up in a victorious snarl.

King panted, blood dripping from his wound. She and Whiskey stalked closer to King. Silk growled menacingly. King cowered down, flattening his ears back.

 _Ha! Coward!_

King sprung up from his couch so quickly, he was only a black-and-white blur in Silk's vision. Silk flinched back, but it took her mind a moment to realized that he was not leaping at her. King had launched himself at Whiskey, and his jaws were latched onto Whiskey's throat.

Whiskey was screeching and clawing at King's sides with his claws, but the blows seemed to have no effect on King. King ripped his head back, tearing out a huge chunk of Whiskey's throat. A yawning red hole gaped in Whiskey's neck, as he gasped and sputtered, blood flying from his lips and collecting and dripping out of his jaws just like how Dusty had coughed up his life. Then the blood began to pour from his neck wound like a river, and Whiskey collapsed to the ground.

 _"No!"_ Silk yowled, springing at King.

The leap was messy, and King dodged her easily, swatting her down and pouncing on top of her. King slashed a long, jagged wound down her right side with his claws, causing Silk to cry out in pain.

"Your turn," he snarled down at Silk, opening his jaws wide.

Silk's mind flying franticly, she jabbed her paw into the big wound on King's stomach, clawing it up more from its red inside. King gasped in pain, recoiling slightly. He moved just enough for Silk to wiggle her way out from under him, and slash her fangs at his throat before stumbling back. King was growling and panting, but still standing. His legs were trembling, a small patch of red staining the white fur around his neck.

 _Did I miss?_

King growled and took one trembling step towards her. The red grew bigger. He took another step. The blood was pouring from his neck now, dripping into the dirt.

"Silk…" King snarled, the blood bubbling out of his throat more quickly at the word.

He collapsed, the pool of his blood growing around him. He began to convulse. Once. Then twice. Then nothing.

Silk turned from him and ran to Whiskey. But, she already knew deep in the dark part of her heart, it was too late. Whiskey's pool of blood mirrored King's. His green eyes were wide and had lost the light that had filled them in life.

Silk fell to the ground next to him, the emptiness inside her profound. Somehow her body was still here, but there was nothing inside it anymore. There seemed no point in doing anything.

"Whiskey," Silk murmured, licking his quickly cooling fur.

She looked over at the wound on her side that stretched from her shoulder to her hip. It burned fiercely, but it wasn't fatal. As long as it didn't get infected, Silk would live. Silk wished that King had done a better job in killing her.

Silk closed her eyes. She could still die. If she waited here, without drinking she would die from dehydration in only a few days.

No. Some cat would find her first. Then there would be questions about what happened to King. She could confess, and they would kill her.

No. They would kill her _and_ Bronze. She must protect him. He was the only thing left.

Silk's eyes flickered open, a new plan being to form in her mind.

Her dreams of starting a new life and family in the forest died with Whiskey. But, she still had Bronze and Dark. Now she must do all she can to protect them and herself. King was dead, who did she have left to fear? There is no one who could stop her from doing anything she wanted now.

Silk rose to her paws slowly. She padded over to King. She stared down at his body for a moment before bending her head, grabbing him by his scruff, then beginning the slow walk back, dragging him to the dens.

* * *

"King is dead!"

 _"King is dead."_

The words rang out around her, some of them whispers, some of them yowls, but all of them said the same thing. Their King was dead. Silk stood over King's body in the weak light of dawn, her head bowed. She was in the center of the nesting area, and cats had begun to gather around her, attracted by the commotion. She closed her eyes, her body shuddering. It wasn't hard for her to play the role of a grieving mate. That was what she was, after all. Except, not for King, but the others didn't have to know that.

"Flower," Silk murmured to the nearby grey cat.

Flower's ears pricked in attention.

"Take some other cats and follow my scent trail back to the edge of the Park. You will find the body of a tabby there. Bring him here. He was the one that murdered King," Silk said.

Flower nodded, gathering up some other cats, she quickly disappeared into the trees.

"What's going on here?" A loud voice rang out.

Lancer came striding through the crowd of cats, Dragon following him like his hulking shadow.

 _"King,"_ Lancer gasped, rushing forward a few steps before stopping just short of King's body.

Dragon remained behind Lancer, his eyes wide. Silk spotted grief there, but also surprise.

"King…" Dragon rumbled in his deep voice, his face filled with sadness and confusion.

Silk remembered how Dragon admitted that he thought the city went on forever. She wonder if he had thought his brother was the same kind of invincible. That he would have gone on forever.

"What happened?" Lancer growled, taking in the bloody wound down Silk's side.

"King and I went out for a night hunt," Silk meowed, the lie coming out so smoothly that she almost believed it herself. "We were ambushed by a strange cat. King and I nearly beat him, but he killed King. Then I managed killed him in revenge."

Silk nodded to her wound.

"Not before he did this to me, of course," Silk said.

"Mom? What's going on?" Dark said, twining around the legs of the cats in the crowd, Bronze behind him.

"Dad?" Dark gasped, running over to Silk and King, Bronze right behind him.

"Shh it's okay," Silk murmured, wrapping her tail around Dark and Bronze and pulling them close to her.

She looked at Bronze's pelt and felt her grief for Whiskey rise up in her throat.

"Your father's dead," Silk meowed to her kits in a broken voice, well aware of all of the eyes on her.

She had to show enough grief for to gain their sympathy and to make them believe her story, but she could not show so much grief that they would think her weak.

"What happened?" Bronze rasped, blinking up at Silk.

Silk flinched, the image of Whiskey standing there with a gaping hole in his throat appearing in her mind.

"A horrible cat killed him," she murmured. "But, don't worry, we are safe. He is dead now."

Silk lifted her gaze from her kits to Lancer.

"King's dying wish was that I would lead in his place, until his sons are old enough to take over," Silk meowed steadily, managing to get her emotions back under control.

"What?" Lancer meowed, his brow furrowing. "I've always been King's second, from long before you showed up. It was always planned that I would take over if something happened to King."

Silk narrowed her eyes at Lancer.

"You would betray King's final command?" Silk asked, her voice slightly accusatory.

"I was not there to hear it, so how do I know it's true?" Lancer growled. "In fact, to me, it seemed like you and King weren't always the closest. How do I know that you didn't kill him to take power?"

"How dare you," Silk snarled, baring her teeth. "King was my mate and the father of my kits!"

Lancer narrowed his eyes at her.

"But, I don't need to justify myself to you," Silk said, collecting herself. "I sent some cats to retrieve the rogue's body. Soon they will be back, and you will be able to smell King's scent on him, and see for yourself that I'm telling the truth."

Lancer looked more uncertain.

"This doesn't change the fact that I have always been King's second. I will rule now that he is gone," Lancer said.

"Lancer," Silk said, dropping her voice. "You know, I've never sought to rule. I was a simple house-cat who got lost one day. I was alone and struggling, before I met you Brothers. I fell in love with King, but I never desired to be Queen."

Silk shook her head.

"I'm just trying to do what he asked," Silk meowed, her voice sad and low. "I think perhaps he feared you were still weak from the Bleeding Cough…"

Silk spoke in a soft voice, but it carried enough into the crowd that she saw the ears of the cats around her peak in interest at her words. Lancer nervously looked at them from side to side.

"I have fully regained my strength," Lancer insisted. "I will lead this group, and that is final."

Silk's gaze flittered from Lancer's to Dragon's. Dragon looked less certain than Lancer. Dragon glanced at Lancer, but he didn't say anything to protest his brother's words.

"Very well," Silk murmured. "I hope you will not disappoint King."

* * *

Silk spent the day sleeping in her nest, regaining her strength from her battle with King. She would need it.

That night, she woke and again slipped silently from her nest. She gathered a big chuck of moss and, carrying it in her jaws, she headed towards Lancer's den. In truth, he was healing from the Bleeding Cough. But, Silk knew that he was lying about having regained his strength. He had been struck by the sickness for longer than King had, and it had ravaged him more thoroughly. He only recently had regained the strength to walk. He was still unfit to hunt or even run. He was definitely unfit to fight.

After making sure there were no cats other around, Silk slipped silently under the thorn-bush he made his nest under. Lancer was curled up, sleeping soundly in his nest. Silk stood over him for a moment, steeling her nerves.

There would be no going back.

Moving quickly, Silk dropped the moss over his muzzle. Lancer's eyes flew open at the touch, but it was too late, Silk was already on him. With one paw, Silk pressed the moss over his nose and mouth, stopping his cries and his breathing. The other paw Silk pressed to his throat, to keep him in place and to aid the other in choking him. Lancer's limbs withed silently on the ground, his green eyes rolling wildly in his skull. Then they rolled back into his head and he suddenly went still as he passed out. Silk didn't move her paws though. She waited until his struggling lungs and jerking flanks went still as well. And, even then, she lowered her ear to his chest to make sure his heart had also gone silent.

Moving quickly, but silently, Silk, wiped all of the traces of the moss from Lancer's muzzle. She rearranged his limbs so it looked like he was sleeping again, before slipping out of the den and heading back to her own.

Silk curled around her kits, back in her own nest, and she closed her eyes, falling into an easy sleep.

* * *

Silk sat in the mid-day sunlight, watching her kits. They were playing together, but it was subdued, the grief of losing their brother, then King, hanging over them. Silk glanced over at Bronze's brown tabby pelt and winced. She suddenly wanted to get up and run away. Or let out a miserable wailing cry and bury her face in her paws.

He looked too much like Whiskey.

Silk looked away and bent her head instead, carefully grooming the wound down her side. Her head snapped back up as a roar shook through the trees. Silk pushed away her grief.

"Lancer is dead!" Dragon roared, bounding into the clearing.

"What!" Silk said, her eyes stretching wide. "What happened?"

"I found him in his nest," Dragon said, blinking hard. "I thought he was just sleeping, but then I went over to him, and he was dead!"

Cats were gathering, drawn in by Lancer's cries.

"Did you see any wounds on him?" Silk asked.

Dragon shook his head.

"No. No blood. It was just like he was sleeping…" he whimpered.

Silk blinked as sympathetically as she could manage at Dragon.

"It must have been the Bleeding Cough. I thought maybe he was still weak from it, but he must have been hiding how much it affected him from us," Silk murmured, reaching a comforting paw out towards Dragon.

Dragon stepped back, away from her touch.

"No," Dragon growled. "He was getting better. I was sure of it."

Silk's brow furrowed.

"But, he must not have been," Silk said gently.

Dragon studied Silk with narrowed eyes and Silk began to feel a trickle of worry that maybe he was not as dumb as she thought he was.

"There was no blood, but I could smell your scent on him," Dragon growled quietly.

Silk flattened her ears.

"So? You saw us speak yesterday. I'm sure your scent was also on him," Silk said. "What are you saying, Dragon?"

"You did something," Dragon growled. "I don't know what, but you want to be Queen, so you did."

Silk's tail twitched.

"Don't be ridiculous Dragon," Silk snapped. "Although, it only makes sense that I become Queen now, since Lancer is also dead."

"You liar!" Dragon thundered, his blue eyes flashing wildly. "My brothers are dead! They're gone! Murderer!"

Dragon sprung at Silk with a snarl.

Silk dodged his attack as quickly as she could manage, flashing a paw out to score her claws down one side of his face. Dragon screeched as her claws slashed through one of his eyes.

He stood there, stunned for a moment, blood dripping from his face. Panting, Silk straightened.

"How dare you attack me unprovoked," Silk growled.

Dragon looked up at her, one blue eye, and one bloody red one.

"You are being irrational. I know you are mad with grief at the loss of your brothers," Silk said. "But, I also lost cats I cared about. I just lost a son and a mate."

Silk stood up straight, to her full height.

"Pull yourself together Dragon," Silk growled. "By attacking me, you are going against King's wishes for me to Queen."

Silk shook her head.

"I don't want to fight you Dragon. I want you to be at my side as you were at King's and help me," Silk said. "I need you. And, my sons need you."

Silk nodded towards her kits. They were watching the situation from the growing crowd with wide, frightened eyes.

"They don't have a father anymore," Silk said. "You are their only uncle left. They need you as a father-figure."

Dragon glanced over at the kits before looking back over at Silk.

"I… I'm sorry," Dragon said, lowering his head. "Forgive me… my Queen."

Silk felt a jolt go through her at the words, and she raised her chin.

"You are forgiven, Dragon," Silk said.

She swept her gaze over the gathered cats.

"King is dead. Lancer is dead," Silk said, her voice loud and powerful, ringing out through the trees. "But, we are not. We will recover. No. Not just recover; we will grow, and become strong. Stronger than we ever were before. I will lead us there. I will be your Queen."

"Queen!" some cat shouted.

"Queen Silk!" echoed a reply.

Silk raised her head and tail. She was a bit surprised at the pride she felt flooding through her. She felt strong, and certain, and… not afraid. For the first time in ages, she didn't feel like she had to look over her shoulder. Silk blinked. She made it. There was nothing left for her to fear.

"Queen Silk!"

"Queen Silk!"

 _"Queen Silk!"_

* * *

The sun was rising on the first full day of her reign.

Silk rose from her nest, blinking the light out of her eyes. The wound on her side stretched uncomfortably, giving a stab of pain as she stepped over her two, still sleeping kits and padded over to where Dragon was sleeping under a bush a few tail-lengths away. Silk took a breath, pushing the pain away and smoothly composing herself.

"Dragon, wake up," Silk said, sitting and curling her tail over her paws.

Dragon stirred, his eyes opening. One eye icy-blue. The other eye still a red, bloodied mess. Silk looked at the eye that she ruined, and she was surprised that she didn't even feel a twinge of pity or guilt. The only thing she felt was a strong rush at the thought of feeling so powerful.

"Yes, Queen Silk?" Dragon said, rising to his paws and bowing his head.

Silk's gaze snapped to his good eye.

"We have a lot of work to do today," Silk said briskly. "I want you to spread the word. Have it be known through the farthest reaches of the Kingdom that I, Silk, am now Queen. And, I expect to be treated with the same respect King was before me."

Silk's gaze darkened, and her gaze drifted back to the bloody crater in Dragon's dark face.

"Or, there will be consequences," Silk said in a low voice.

Dragon blinked, and Silk imagined he was thinking about her claws slashing through his face.

"Yes, Queen," Dragon said in a quiet voice.

Silk raised her chin, her chest swelling. She could almost not believe it. Could she have ever imagined this massive cat bowing before her? That she would have dozens of cats doing what she said?

Silk blinked, her mind flying back what felt like eons ago to a gentle cat with soft white fur and clean, bloodless paws. A cat who spent her days napping in the sunshine of the window or chatting with a small dog. A cat who knew nothing of the violence that waited just outside of her house-folk's door. But, who also knew nothing of the thrill of a hunt, the love of another, or the sweetness of strength… and power.

Could that soft little cat once have been her? That life felt like a dream. But, not a dream that could have belonged to Silk. Not a dream of a Queen.

Silk blinked, her thoughts interrupted by Dark dashing past her, purring tauntingly at Bronze from over his shoulder. Bronze went rushing after him as fast as he could, his pelt bushed out.

At the sight of his brown tabby fur, Silk inhaled sharply. The powerful feeling that had filled her chest just moments before was knocked out of her, leaving her rattled and hollow inside. Silk gazed at her kit, feeling paralyzed. An aching pain appeared in her chest, blossoming, then spreading, like hot poison in her blood.

 _How can I be Queen when the sight of my own kit nearly knocks me off my paws?_

 _Whiskey…_

Silk closed her eyes, the pain burning like fire inside of her.

 _Whiskey is gone,_ Silk reminded herself harshly. _Your memories of him now only bring pain. His body is buried within the ground. Now bury him within you._

Silk's eyes opened again, and she stared at the brown fur of her son as he tumbled with his brother, and she felt her chest twisting. She could feel Dragon's icy blue eye on her, and she swallowed, trying to regain her composure.

 _Don't let them see your weakness,_ she thought.

 _The Queen does not grieve._ _Silk loved Whiskey, but the Queen did not. I need to bury Silk in me along with him._

"Bronze. Settle down; you're still recovering from you're illness," Dragon rumbled in his deep voice, his voice scolding.

"Don't call him that," Silk said in a hiss.

Her kit came to a stop and turned to look up at her, blinking his big orange eyes in confusion.

"What? Why not?" Dragon asked, the bewilderment in his voice echoing her kit's look.

Silk blinked her eyes, feeling like her chest was being torn open by claws as she looked over at her son. Her son and the only son Whiskey had left. The only part of Whiskey that was left for _her._ She would see him everyday. When she looked at their kit's bronze pelt, she would only ever be reminded of Whiskey.

 _I may be able to bury Whiskey within me. I may also be able to bury Silk. But, his son? I will never be able to rid myself of him. In him, I will see Whiskey… and Silk, forever._

Every moment, every new sunrise she spent with her kit, he would rip her heart in two again. And, again.

Her son was padding over to her now, on his short, teetering kit-legs. Silk turned her head away from him, unable to look at his face.

"Call him Ripper," Silk said quietly, her voice barely a breath.

"What?" her son, Ripper, said, his voice confused.

Silk closed her eyes, feeling another stab of pain in her chest.

 _Turn your heart to ice. Silk may hurt, but the Queen doesn't._

Silk opened her eyes again.

"Now Dragon. Go, do what I asked you," Silk said, her voice becoming stronger.

"…Yes my Queen," Dragon said in his deep voice.

"Mom?" Ripper said, trying to walk around Silk's ankles, his big, wide orange eyes peering up at her.

Silk rose to her feet, turned, and walked away from him, her eyes locked on the trees in front of her. The pale morning sunlight was streaming through the branches, falling faintly on her white fur, warming the long wound that marked her perfect pelt, starting at her shoulder and snaking down her side. Her heart was pounding in her chest, even and slow and powerful. Her Kingdom stretched out before her, open and ready for her taking. Her chin was head high, and her cold orange gaze didn't once waver.

"Mom?" Ripper said, his voice trembling slightly. "Mom!"

Silk didn't look back.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

 _That is the end of Silk's Reign! It's not a very happy story, but I hope you enjoyed it! If you would like to read more about Silk and Ripper, they appear in my story Lightning's Destiny._

 _Also, I just wanted to say I know I pulled a total "Yellowfang naming Brokenkit after her broken heart" move there at the end haha. I hope it didn't come across as too cheesy. Although, Silk's naming of Ripper is more angry/spiteful than Yellowfang's motivations. By calling him "Ripper" she's branded him, and turning her back on him/motherhood. Truthfully, in real life, I named Ripper after Jack the Ripper, since the two of them both slash up/mangle their victim pretty badly. But, of course that doesn't make sense in context of the story, since these are cats who know nothing about human serial killers. When I started to develop Silk's backstory, it became clear that I had to come up with the origins of Ripper's name. I thought about it just being a nickname that he adopted as he got older and became a proficient killer, but it seemed more meaningful coming from Silk. Let me know what you think!_

 _Review response:_

 _Blue Pineapplez: Thanks a lot! I hope you enjoyed the ending too :)_

 _Princessaurora2004: Thank you! The faster pace in this story is sort of new to me; I've found that normally the timelines I write are slow and packed in tons of details lol. But, this was a good learning experience on pacing! And, surprise! The kits are both Whiskey's and King's haha. Did you know cats can have kittens in the same litter with different fathers? When I learned that, I felt like I had to incorporate it into one of my stories some how :)_

 _BrightMind: Interesting observations! Hm yes, King is ruthless, but he is also smart. He has no qualms about killing to get what he wants, but he knows he also has to govern. He knows that he must be strong and scary, but he can't be needlessly cruel since he wants his cats to keep following him, not rebel. His relationship with Silk is also very interesting. I wouldn't say that King loves her, but he admires her greatly, although he cannot make himself fully trust her (and rightly so, considering her affair with Whiskey ha. In fact, I would say that the only cats that King does trust completely are his brothers.) But, if Silk did love him, I think King would have opened up more to her in response, and they probably would have been a fearsome team. Unfortunately, though, King is too good of a teacher to Silk, and from him, she learns how to lie and scheme. Which ultimately leads to his demise. Silk does turn out a lot like him in the end; she learned everything she knows from him after all ;)_


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